Raheem Sterling: Football needs more black managers

Raheem Sterling thinks that for football to make progress in the fight against racism more black players need to become managers. He made the remarks while talking about George Floyd the black man who died in the hands of white police officers in the United States.

While speaking to BBC, Sterling noted that: “The protest is a great starting point, to make your voice be heard. But just protesting alone is not going to make a change in this country. It’s how we move on from here. It’s about highlighting things, the society that needs changing, and then acting upon it. We’ve done a lot of talking, and it’s time now to act.”

He said that minorities in British Football such as the Asian community and the black community need more opportunities. He compared White and black young managers in England noting that: “The coaching staff that you see around football clubs: there’s Steven Gerrard, your Frank Lampards, your Sol Campbells and your Ashley Coles. All had great careers, all played for England.

“The change is being able to speak to people in Parliament, people at the hierarchy at my football club, football clubs across the country, people at the national team of England, to implement change and give equal chances to not just black coaches but also different ethnicities.

“Give black coaches, not just coaches but people in their respective fields, the right opportunity. I feel like that’s what’s lacking here, it’s not just taking the knee, it is about giving people the chance they deserve.

“There’s something like 500 players in the Premier League and a third of them are black and we have no representation of us in the hierarchy, no representation of us in the coaching staffs. There’s not a lot of faces that we can relate to and have conversations with.”

Raheem Sterling concluded by stating that: “When there’s someone from a black background I can go to in the FA with a problem I have within the club, that will be when I know change is happening and not just in my field, also in Parliament. Once we do see those numbers shifting, that’s when I’ll be happy and the people will be happy.”