Trustees

Kick It Out’s Board of Trustees assist in the overall running and governance of the organisation.

The Board of Trustees hold quarterly meetings related to on-going activity and work collaboratively with the Chair, Director and staff members to contribute to the future strategy of the campaign.

Independent Members

The key role of the Independent members is to bring new ideas and rigorous scrutiny and vigilance to the work of the Board of Trustees in managing the resources available against the agreed strategy and programmes. They must ensure that the outcomes achieved contribute to the overall objective of eradicating discrimination from the game.

Board of Trustees 

  • Lord Herman Ouseley (Chair)

    Lord Ouseley is a British parliamentarian who founded Kick It Out in 1993 when he was the chairperson of the Commission for Racial Equality.

    He was knighted in 1997 for his services to local government and community relations and was made a life peer as Baron Ouseley of Peckham Rye in the London Borough of Southwark in 2001.

    He acts as a council member of the Institute of Race Relations and has been awarded 14 honorary degrees.

    Lord Ouseley has a career spanning over 50 years as a champion of equality and diversity, and continues to be at the forefront of challenging institutional discrimination.

  • Rimla Akhtar MBE (Independent)

    Rimla is a sports development consultant and founder of RimJhim Consulting.

    She is an inclusion and diversity specialist in sport and before working in sport she had responsibility for a number of FTSE 100 clients across multiple industries at a global services firm.

    Rimla now shares her time between writing, speaking, mentoring, practical and strategic consultancy and campaigns. She also independently advises and leads projects with governments, advocacy organisations, national and international sports bodies and community groups.

    Additionally, she is the Chair of the Muslim Women’s Sports Foundation (MWSF), while in 2014, she became the first Muslim and Asian woman on the FA Council, in addition to her role on the Inclusion Advisory Board (IAG) at The FA.

    In 2015, Rimla was awarded an MBE for her contribution to equality and diversity in sport.

  • Garth Crooks OBE (Independent)

    Garth is a former professional footballer who most notably played for Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspur during a 14-year career in which he scored over 200 goals.

    Over the course of his time at White Hart Lane, he won two FA Cups and the UEFA Cup. He collected four caps for England under-21s and also featured for Manchester United, West Bromwich Albion and Charlton Athletic before retiring in 1990.

    He became the first black chairman of the Professional Footballers’ Association in 1988 and was instrumental in the launch of Kick It Out. He was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for his services to football 11 years later.

    Garth has been a prominent figure within the football media ever since featuring as a match analyst during the 1982 World Cup in Spain. He currently works for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) as a pundit, presenter and broadcast journalist.

  • Jon Nagle (English Football League)

  • James MacDougall - The FA

    James is Senior Public Affairs Manager at The Football Association.

  • Katherine Allen - Premier League

    Katherine is Head of Policy at the Premier League.

    Katherine has a BA in Politics and Economics from SOAS, University of London and a MA in Television and Current Affairs Journalism from City University London. She worked as a political lobbyist on the first Obama presidential election campaign in the USA before splitting her time between BBC Sport and BBC America for three years.

    She spent almost four years in government communications at the Home Office and 10 Downing Street, where she covered foreign affairs and was head of the No 10 news desk. She has been at the Premier League since April 2017.

  • Iffy Onuora (The Professional Footballers’ Association)

    Iffy is a former professional footballer who made nearly 500 appearances for clubs across the English Football League (EFL) before holding a number of brief management roles.

    Having begun his playing career in 1989, his most notable spells came at Huddersfield Town, Gillingham, Swindon Town before he eventually retired in 2004.

    In 2005, Iffy became manager of Swindon before caretaker stints in charge at the Gills and Lincoln City. His most recent management position was with Ethiopia in 2011.

    The UEFA Pro License holder has been working at the PFA as an Equalities Officer and Regional Coach since.

  • Udo Onwere (Independent)

    A former footballer with almost 200 English Football League (EFL) appearances, Udo retired in 2000 and retrained as a lawyer, qualifying in 2008. Part of his role as an Associate involves advising high profile players on private client matters for Farrer & Co, the firm he has worked for since 2013,  after joining from Thomas Eggar LLP.

    Along with Lord Ouseley, Udo’s contribution to his work with professional footballers and clubs was recognised with his nomination to the Voice’s Black List in 2015.

"The message of Kick It Out is very important and there is no better place to start than with young children."
Nathaniel Chalobah, 'Next 20' Ambassador
"Racism is not only a problem in football, it's a problem in society. Until we tackle it in society, we can't tackle it in football."
John Barnes, former England midfielder
Report an incident of discrimination confidentiallymore >

 

  • 2018
  • 2017
  • 2016
  • 2015
  • 2014
  • 2013
  • 2012
  • 2011
  • 2010
"We have a responsibility as players to give something back and I’m really thankful to be part of this organisation because we can do a lot of good."
Jack Butland, 'Next 20' Ambassador
“A big part of my involvement with Kick It Out stems from my strong admiration for the organisation’s commitment to fairness and equality.”
Clive Tyldesley, football commentator
“It was Kick It Out that convinced the people in football that change was possible.”
Greg Dyke, former FA chairman
“I wanted to thank the campaigners at Kick It Out for their work. I know first-hand how Kick It Out can help.”
Yaya Toure, Manchester City midfielder
“It is important for me in my role as a Kick It Out ‘Next 20’ ambassador to teach young people how to handle discrimination and treat people with respect.”
Romelu Lukaku, 'Next 20' Ambassador
“It is a massive honour for me to be an ambassador for such a great organisation. I think they do great work on and off the field.”
Toni Duggan, 'Next 20' Ambassador
"It really helped me to see that other professional sports people were acknowledging their sexuality. I read about John Amaechi, Gareth Thomas and Tom Daley. They weren't footballers but the fact that they went public gave me the feeling that I was not alone."
Thomas Hitzlsperger, former Aston Villa midfielder
"There was no conflict between religion and the fact that I wanted to play football. I was brought up correctly and in the right way and my parents are very proud of the fact that I am a professional footballer."
Sadio Mané, Liverpool winger
“I think it’s important to share success stories and realise that there are women operating in the game. If it’s something you want to do, you can do it.”
Ffion Eade, Hampshire FA referee
"I've had loads of negative comments from men, especially growing up. It's just boring and old. Times have changed, and they continue to change. Women play football, and they're good at it, and have been for a number of years.”
Kelly Smith, England Women's record goalscorer
"Despite the progress, stereotypes still exist in football and until that is broken down it will be extremely difficult for a woman to manage a top level men's team."
Rachel Yankey, former Arsenal Ladies forward
"There’s no hiding that there is sexism in sport. We have a lack of women right across all levels of management, playing and coaching. It shows the closed nature of sport in general and this includes the media. It’s an indictment of sport as a whole."
Rimla Akhtar, Kick It Out trustee and Chair of the Muslim Women’s Sports Foundation
“I’m proud to be a supporter of Kick It Out and particularly the work they are doing to combat antisemitism within football.”
Joe Jacobson, Wycombe Wanderers midfielder
"With Kick It Out leading the way football is standing up and fighting against those who preach hatred and intolerance and we at Chelsea are proud to support their work."
Bruce Buck, Chelsea Football Club Chairman