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England star Raheem Sterling on the Football Black List 2019

November 26, 2019
  • Sterling features on the list alongside Danny Rose, Sadio Mane, Eniola Aluko and Anita Asante in the Cyrille Regis players section
  • For the first time the Administration section is all female
  • More women feature on the list than ever 
  • The Football Black List will be published exclusively in The Voice Newspaper today

Manchester City and England star, Raheem Sterling, has today been named on the Football Black List – an initiative celebrating the most influential black people in the British game. 

Sterling makes the list for his stance on addressing racism in football and how he used his profile and platform to raise awareness of how black people can be misrepresented in the media.

The Football Black List, founded in 2008 by sports journalists Leon Mann and Rodney Hinds, highlights positive influencers from the black community in the sport.

A panel of experts from the community and football industry looked at a long list of nominations before a voting process decided who made the final list. The panel included representation from the Premier League, The Football Association, Professional Footballers’ Association, League Managers Association, English Football League and Kick It Out.

Others on the list include Liverpool’s Champions League winner, Sadio Mane, for his charity work in Senegal, Tottenham Hotspur and England full back, Danny Rose, for raising awareness of mental health issues in sport, and Michael Johnson, who led Guyana to their first major tournament and is now part of the England Under 21s coaching set up.

The list also features an all female Administration section with Birmingham City COO, Lungi Macebo and Tottenham Hotspur Foundation CEO, Sarah Ebanja, among the quintet in the category. For the first time in the 11 year history of list half of those celebrated are women.

The Voice Newspaper is the home of the Football Black List which also shines a light on deserving people working at the community and grassroots level of the game who often go uncelebrated.

The initiative creates an opportunity to reflect on diversity within the industry, while also facilitating discussions on how best to address the under-representation of people from African-Caribbean backgrounds.

The list recognises people across seven categories:

  • Media
  • Administration
  • Coaching and Management
  • Commercial
  • Community
  • Cyrille Regis Players
  • Practitioners

The Ugo Ehiogu ‘Ones to Watch’ category – which identifies talented, young people in the industry under 30 years of age – will be released next week.

The Keith Alexander award winners – for services to the black community and football industry – will be announced on the eve of the awards celebration, supported by the Premier League, which takes place on the 21st November in central London.

Leon Mann, co-founder of the Football Black List, said: “Raheem has made such a huge impact in the last year on and off the pitch. His vital words and actions in confronting issues of racism and how the black community is treated cannot be down played.

“We are delighted to have another incredible list that will help to inspire the next generation of young black people to get involved in all areas of the game. It’s particularly special this year that half of the list is female.”

Fellow co-founder of the initiative, Rodney Hinds, added: “It is fantastic to see that some 50 per cent of this year’s list is female. It shows the progress that is being made within the game, however slowly.

“Raheem should be congratulated for the positive strides he his making, on and off-field.

“Football needs more like him in terms of taking a consistent stand on important subjects.”

Please find the full Football Black List below:

Cyrille Regis Players:
Anita Asante

Danny Rose
Eni Aluko
Raheem Sterling

Sadio Mane

Administration:
Amanda Hudson, Director of Education – WADA
Joanie Evans, Co-President – Federation of Gay Games
Lungi Macebo, Chief Operating Officer – Birmingham City FC
Sarah Ebanja, CEO, Tottenham Hotspur Foundation
Vivienne Aiyela, Non-Executive Director – London FA
Coaching and Management:
Chris Ramsey MBE, Technical Director – Queens Park Rangers
Colin Omogbehin, Under-23 Academy Head Coach – Fulham FC
Coreen Brown, Academy Coach – Arsenal Ladies
Justin Cochrane, Head Coach – England Under-15 Team
Michael Johnson, National Team Manager – Guyana National Team
Commercial:
Dominique Delvaille, Women Brand Director – Nike
Donna Bartley, Senior Associate – Morgan Sports Law
Ellen Chiwenga, Football Match Agent – EC Football Consultancy
GavinLee Ellison, Head of Global Operations – Concave Football
Tobi Alabi, Founder – Heart 4 More Foundation and Football Agent
Community and Grassroots:
Bobby Kasanga, Founder – Hackney Wick FC
Francesca Brown, Founder – Goals4Girls
Iqraa Ismail, Founder – NUR Women’s Football Club
Dr. Mark Prince, Founder – Kiyan Prince Foundation
Michael Wallace, Co-Founder – KickOff@3
Media:
Adrian Kajumba, Football Reporter – Daily Mail
Anne-Marie Batson, Freelance Sports Broadcaster
Clinton Forde, Co-Founder – Rootz TV
Felicia Pennant, Editor – SEASON zine
Joel Beya, Co-Founder – Cheeky Sport
Practitioners:
Akil Howson, Assistant Referee – English Football League
Dr. John Iga, Head of Performance Services – Huddersfield Town Football Club
David Rainford, Club Support Manager – Premier League
Jehmeil Lemonius, Sports Campaign Manager – Stonewall
Lorna Falconer, Head of Football Operations – Brentford FC
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE EMAIL ANDREW@FOOTBALLBLACKLIST.COM
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