Football’s Black List has landed and judging by the comments on my twitter timeline, it has made an impact.
I thought it best to use my column to address some of the issues raised, and where better to start than with The Daily Mirror’s story.
On the face of it the paper asked a good question. How could the panel leave out Ashley Cole, given he had become the first black player to win 100 caps for England? The answer is pretty simple. The initiative is about what members of our community are doing OFF the pitch.
I hope this answers the Chelsea fans that suspected I was an Arsenal supporter and had an anti-Ashley agenda!
On a serious note, having spent time with the England left back in New York a couple of seasons ago, I can assure anyone reading this that there is no agenda here. Google ‘Ashley + Cole + Leon + Mann’ if you don’t believe me. And who knows? If the panel agree, it may well be fitting to celebrate his remarkable achievement ON the pitch at the awards evening later in the year.
While the majority of responses to the list were very positive, a large number of people asked if it would it be racist to have a White List? Suggesting the Black List is a negative thing because they feel it encourages segregation.
To answer this best, here is my three-step rationale for any list that hopes to help football become more diverse.
1) Is the group or community you wish to celebrate under represented in the areas you are highlighting? If yes, proceed.
2) Would the list, celebrating role models from that group or community, help to encourage others to strive for jobs, in an attempt to address under representation? If yes, proceed.
3) Would an awards evening only celebrate the contributions of one group or community, to the success of the under represented group? If no, (the Black List has awarded non-African Caribbean people regularly) I strongly believe you have an initiative that can help to make a difference.
– The Leon Mann column first appeared in The Voice Newspaper