‘Football must change lack of black people in positions of power’

RAHEEM Sterling has called for English football to seize the moment and finally address its lack of black representation in positions of power.

The Manchester City and England forward made the comments during an appearance on the BBC’s flagship political programme, Newsnight, in the wake of antiracism protests that have taken hold across the world.

Advance clips had shown the 25-year-old offering his support to those who have taken to the streets in the aftermath of civilian George Floyd’s death at the hands of police in the United States, but the full interview with Emily Maitlis saw him focus on matters closer at hand.

Reflecting on his own sport, Sterling pointed a finger at the long-running disparity between the number of high-profile Bame players and the dearth of those who go on to win significant managerial, coaching or administrative jobs.

Sterling cited the respective fortunes of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, who have landed top roles at Rangers and Chelsea in the early stages of their management careers, as compared to equally experienced black players who have been compelled to start much lower down the ladder.

“This is a time to speak on these subjects, speak on injustice, especially in my field,” said Sterling.

“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.

“With these protests that are going on it’s all well and