Football First’s celebrates icons and shares challenges with discrimination in the game

Tuesday 17 Oct 2017
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Football stars of the past came together to celebrate their achievements in the game, and the continued fight for equality in the sport.

The Paul Canoville Foundation hosted the inaugural Football First’s event on Friday 13 October, supported by Kick It Out, celebrating legends past and present including: Hope Powell, Paul Elliot, Chris Ramsey, Ricky Hill, Pat Nevin, Howard Gayle and Andy Impey.

Canoville himself could not attend the event as Chelsea’s first black player was in hospital recovering from major surgery.

“It’s lovely to have such an assortment of quality players who have all made a huge substantial positive difference to the game,” said Paul about the occasion.

Taking place in Hammersmith Town Hall, the event focused on the panel discussion of the legends, discussing how they got into football, reliving highlights of their career, as well as tackling discrimination in their journey in football.

The evening proved to be engaging for the audience in attendance with the level of support from the community, a collective consensus of the need for change, and a collective drive to try and achieve it being the core messages to come from the event.

With an audience of over 250 people, Pat of Celtic and Chelsea fame recalled having to defend Canoville from their own fans:

“I couldn’t not intervene. Those were different days, the acceptance in football was ignore it, maybe the club might do something about it, The FA may do something about it. But it [intervening] was about being brought up thinking about equality.”

Ricky is a lobbyist for a ‘Rooney Rule’ within football that would see that at least one person of colour interviewed for a head coaching position if they meet the requirements for the job, a rule which is currently implemented in the National Football League in America.

He commented on policy changes within English football that could help tackle racial discrimination at the board room level.

“I’m really disappointed that at this moment, in 2017, we only have the voluntary recruitment code, which only 10 teams have signed up to. And from the mere fact from the word ‘voluntary’ kind of dilutes the whole issue.”

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"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

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