MY BOYS ARE NOW WORLD LEADERS
Southgate hails his young guns for showing maturity in attempt to make real difference
IF YOU are going to encourage your young charges to have a voice, you need to be able to stomach what it has to say.
So although Raheem Sterling went on BBC’s Newsnight programme on Monday to air some fairly unpalatable home truths about the lack of diversity among the upper echelons of his paymasters at the FA, England boss Gareth Southgate insists it was “impressive”.
It was just the latest occasion a young England player has stolen the news agenda as, shut down with the rest of their contemporaries in a difficult and recently fractious lockdown, they have taken a lead.
Southgate has not had a chance to speak to any of his squad since the George Floyd murder ignited feelings around the globe already on a short fuse with the pandemic.
But ever since football was locked down in the weeks building up to a scheduled international break in March featuring games against Italy and Denmark, he has got used to seeing his players featuring prominently on the news. “They’ve obviously impressed me,” he said. “So young but their thoughts on things and their willingness to speak up on critical matters shows they recognise that they can affect the world outside their own game.
“It’s so long ago, some of the things that the players did, but going back to the beginning of the NHS initiative that Jordan Henderson seemed to lead so well, Harry Maguire providing care packages in his local village. “There have been innumerable stories… of course Trent Alexander
Arnold regularly working in his community and that is without mentioning what Marcus Rashford has done [paying for free school meals].
“It’s important they recognise that they shouldn’t just sit back and be happy to be players – they can make a difference.
“They recognised the journeys in their own lives that they have been through, what difficulties they faced where they see other kids in those areas where they grew up, the chance to make a difference for them.”
So many of the sessions at St George’s Park under Southgate’s tenure have been about building the social responsibility to be an England player rather than just play for England. With Sterling’s views still dominating social media, however, Southgate took no credit for turning his country’s players – instead he thinks modern society gives them their own prominence.
“A lot of credit must go to them and their families for the way they are,” he said. “I also think young people of their generation, they are wired to have a voice, have an opinion, to recognise they can make an impact.
“To not just sit back and accept the status quo. There’s a generational aspect to that, they are more confident to speak up, they have a platform with social media to be able to have a voice.
“They are more comfortable in that space whereas maybe we were more reticent.We weren’t as open.”
One of the “open” criticisms Sterling made was that there is not enough diversity at the FA itself.
“When I can have someone from a black background for me to be able to go to at the FA with a problem I have within the club – these will be the times I know that change is happening,” he said.
While a lot of effort has been made to improve the representation of both women and minorities, Southgate admits the FA could do more.
“The biggest crime for us in any area if we’re adults looking at kids, is if they sit and think that a path in life isn’t possible,” he said. “And is not accessible.
“I heard Jermain Defoe talking a few days ago saying, ‘Is it worth me taking my qualifications?’
“That’s what we have to avoid. We have to avoid the feeling that you can’t achieve something because that stops some people going for it.”