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STATEMENT: Inter Milan fans hold up posters of Mario Balotelli in response to racist abuse that the player received during the 2009 Italian Serie A.
Lord Herman Ouseley, Chair of Kick It Out
The head of British football's anti-racism body warned that extremists are trying to infiltrate the game again, citing the massacre in Norway as a wake-up call.
Kick It Out chairman Herman Ouseley fears right-wing hard-liners could exploit the country's economic troubles, with ''massive deprivation'' in parts of England having the potential to foment hatred and exclusion.
English football has largely eradicated the racial abuse of black players that blighted the game here in the 1970s and '80s, thanks in large part to the work of the Kick It Out group.
''Extremists are still trying to get back into football,'' Ouseley, a member of the House of Lords, told The Associated Press. ''We've managed to push them off the terraces away from grounds, but it's still out in the community and it's important that we understand that they are trying win over the minds of young, vulnerable people and a lot of football fans are young and vulnerable.
''We must always use football as a basis to help young people have a better understanding to have open minds, to see the dangers lurking within those who are offering them easy solutions through hatred.''
Ouseley is concerned that confessed Norwegian killer Anders Behring Breivik could inspire disaffected people in Britain. He raised the issue while addressing an audience of top football officials at an anti-racism event at Wembley Stadium.
Breivik claims he carried out last month's twin-attacks, which killed 77 people, to launch a revolution against a Europe spoiled by Muslim immigration.
''Events in Norway over the last week reminds us that the hatred .. exists not far from our shores,'' Ouseley said. ''Because believe you me, there are people like that living among us in the UK and organisations that are very hateful.''
The leader of the English Defense League, a far-right group mentioned by Breivik as an inspiration, was convicted last week of leading a brawl involving 100 fellow supporters of Luton Town in Aug. 2010. Stephen Lennon, who was chanting ''EDL till I die,'' was given a 12-month rehabilitation order.
''It's important that football is seen to be making a contribution (to combatting extremism),'' Ouseley said in the interview. ''It requires a greater collective effort to prevent the sort of horrors and atrocities that we have seen.''
''Norway has happened on a big scale that is a phenomenal human tragedy,'' he added. ''It is a reflection of is what is going on in many countries within Europe. Some would say it's worse in eastern Europe but it's just as bad in western Europe.''
Ouseley said football can be a positive force by inspiring more black and ethnic minority coaches to become involved in the game.
On Tuesday, he launched the first initiative backed by all of English football's main governing bodies to ensure coaching is not a white-dominated preserve.
When the Premier League season starts next week, not a single black manager will be in charge.
''There's no doubt that English football has been graced by some fantastic black players over the years - Viv Anderson, Cyrille Regis, Andrew Cole, Rio Ferdinand, John Barnes, Ashley Cole and Paul Ince,'' said Football Association chairman David Bernstein. ''But, for whatever reason, that talent just hasn't transferred itself from the field of play to the dugout.''
The only two black managers in the 72-team Football League are Chris Hughton of Birmingham City in the second-tier League Championship and Chris Powell of Charlton Athletic in third-tier League One.
While the Premier League is packed with black stars, players of Asian background are yet to establish themselves, with few role models on - or off the pitch.
''Clearly without the base of Asian players, the challenge of developing coaches and managers is much greater,'' Bernstein said. ''We know there are cultural and traditional reasons for this situation but we firmly believe that if we can develop some Asian coaches, working on a regular basis in football, this will encourage and give confidence to talented youngsters in those communities.''
Associated Press.
Kiaora (Greetings).
Firstly I would like to refer to 'Bend it like Birmingham'Sport Inclusion Project, which was one of the programmes funded by the Football Foundation and Sport England, to emerge as a result of the 2001 race riots in northern English towns which led the Government to reassess Britain's multi-cultural policies. The Project was created also to aid the breaking down of cultural barriers between predominantly Muslim BME groups, White and other communities in East Birmingham hence marking the shift towards integration and community cohesion.
The Project uses sport to engage with people of ALL BACKGROUNDS to enable integration and promote cohesion, and also to help break down tensions between the older, low-income, white communities in the outer parts of the city and the younger, low-income, black and ethnic minority communities in inner parts of the area. .
By making a wide variety of sports sessions available to local people each week, the project helps to improve people's health, tackle anti-social behaviour and provide more pathways to employment by getting people involved in volunteering
The head of British football's anti-racism body, Lord Hermam Ouseley, Chairman of 'Kick It Out' says ''Extremists are still trying to get back into football,'' and ''We've managed to push them off the terraces away from grounds, but it's still out in the community and it's important that we understand that they are trying win over the minds of young, vulnerable people and a lot of football fans are young and vulnerable...and ''We must always use football as a basis to help young people have a better understanding to have open minds, to see the dangers lurking within those who are offering them easy solutions through hatred.''
I do not and never will defend "Extremists" of any kind in any way, shape or form. However, one 'Thorn In The Side Of British Citizens' that can be One of the Causes is Football Club Ownership'
Football Governance - Culture, Media and Sport Committee
SUMMARY
5 Club ownership
Foreign Ownership.
166. Around half of Premier League clubs are now run by foreign owners keen to participate in the most prestigious and highest revenue-producing league in the world. While it is important to acknowledge distinctions in the model operated by different foreign owners at their respective clubs (the model operated by Aston Villa's American owner is, for example, far more conservative than the regimes at Chelsea and Manchester City), this trend is liable to continue because, as football supporter Paul Norris observed, with regard to foreign ownership:
Whilst many fans would prefer their club to be run by the traditional 'local boy done good' type of owner (an example might be Steve Gibson at Middlesbrough) or through fan ownership models, the reality is that the finances demanded in order to compete at the top of the Premier League mean that this is now rarely possible. [227]
167. Does this matter? Our evidence offered a number of reasons why it might. Firstly, there were concerns that foreign owners would be less inclined to support measures in the long-term interests of the English game. John Bowler, Chairman of Crewe Alexandra questioned whether foreign owners "have as much interest in the future of the national game […] and the wellbeing and development of it". He stressed that the Premier League had been supportive thus far, but that "we're in a changed process, with new ownership and foreign ownership coming in to the Premier League. […]a number of us have got concerns about how will this relationship nurture itself and develop in the future".[228]
168. Secondly, there were concerns that foreign owners, unfamiliar with the complexities of the English game, might be more inclined to bite off more than they could chew. Peter Coates explained how Stoke's previous Icelandic owners had found the going much tougher than they had imagined, and ended up selling the club back to him:
They thought they could take Stoke into the Premier League […] They found it much more difficult than they thought. […] They had a bit of money to spend; they thought they would have a bit of fun, enjoy it and make some money, because they thought they were going to get into the Premier League. Of course, they discovered how difficult it was. It is an immensely difficult industry to work in. You have immense pressure from the media, immense pressure from your supporters and it is a tough business.[229]
169. Thirdly, concerns were expressed that foreign owners, not appreciating the traditions of their club, would be more likely to take decisions that clashed with the identity of their club. Niall Quinn, Chairman of Sunderland for US owner Ellis Short, recalled asking him to understand the emotion of the football club. He also argued, however, that his foreign owner had fully brought into Sunderland's history and potential, and wanted to go with the fans on an adventure. He proposed that this was a good formula.[230] Though he avowed that UEFA was neutral on the subject of foreign ownership, William Galliard also commented that "when you have a foreign owner, a foreign coach and mostly foreign players, what is left that is local? The history, the spirit of the club is based on its supporters and the identify of its supporters".[231]
170. The fourth concern expressed was a reputational issue. The suggestion was that foreign owners might be more likely to seek to own a club for non-football related reasons which would reflect poorly on the reputation of the English game. Sean Hamil provided arguably the most egregious example:
I don't think Thaksin Shinawatra [a former owner of Manchester City] was a fit and proper person. He obviously bought that club for purely political reasons. He spent all the money off a three-year TV deal in the first year. Potentially, he could have destabilised the whole competition.[232]
171. Finally, and pertinently in the light of the previously articulated concerns, it was suggested that it was harder for the English football authorities to gauge whether prospective foreign owners were likely to be fit and proper owners of an English club. Greg Clarke, explained:
Our biggest problem isn't necessarily people in the UK, because you can phone around in the UK and you can get a reasonable off the record view of most people. What if someone pops from-let me pick a country at random where we haven't had anyone from, so they can't say. 'Hey you're talking about him'—the Philippines. How do you find out about someone who has made some money in the Philippines? You can phone up the embassy and they'll say 'oh well, don't know much about him'. [233]
172. We would not wish by any means to rule out or discourage foreign ownership of English clubs. It is a reality that English clubs can be bought and sold more freely than in other major football-playing countries. A strong case can, therefore, be made that because more owners from different backgrounds—both domestic and foreign—are looking to purchase English football clubs, particularly robust criteria for ownership need to be applied before they are allowed to own a club in English competitions.
Club Governance
I am pleased that one of the recommendations to emerge from the Football Governance - Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee Inquiry is that the FPPT will be more vigorously applied.
Fit and Proper Persons Test (FPPT) requirement...The Select Committee "recommend that robust ownership rules, including a strong fit and proper persons test, consistently applied throughout the professional game with the FA having an oversight role, should be a key component of the licensing model. The presumption should be against proposals to sell the ground unless it is in the interests of the club. There should be complete transparency around ownership and the terms of loans provided by directors to the club. There is no more blatant an example of lack of transparency than the recent ownership history of Leeds United, and we urge the FA to demonstrate its new resolve by conducting a thorough investigation and, if necessary, to seek the assistance of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs".
Finally, one way the Footballing Fraternity can help the young youth out in the communities to avoid being targetted by "Extremist Groups" is to Address the High Costs of Ticketing to Games that has Driven the Young and not so Young from the stadiums. The CEO of Arsenal Football Club, Ivan Gazidas was hoping that the select committee would address this issue - However, Ivan Gazidas does intend to address this issue himself in finding ways to get the young back into the stadiums.
Just a Kiwi Girl's Opinion as Per Usual...Hei Kona (Stay Well).
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