Why representation in football matters

Former Manchester United defender Viv Anderson is an inspiration to many.

Sir Alex Ferguson's first-ever signing as United manager arrived in Manchester as a 30-year-old who had already made history, not just with titles and medals but with what he represented to football as a whole; a defiant symbol of much-needed change.

In November 1978, at a time when racism was still prevalent in many corners of society, Anderson became the first black player to play for England's senior national team.

We marked the start of Black History Month on the latest episode of Inside Carrington, discussing that historic moment with Anderson, and getting reflections from Wes Brown and United Women goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce about what has improved since then, and what is still to be done.

Inside Carrington: Black History Month special

Inside Carrington: Black History Month special

There was one consistent theme throughout the engaging chat: representation matters.

Anderson recalls a key inspiration, as a young budding footballer, was seeing Bermudian striker Clyde Best playing on TV for West Ham United.

"I always remember watching Match of the Day and seeing a black face," Anderson said.

"That was my first introduction to football, that a black face can play football at a certain level and get yourself on Match of the Day.

"I remember watching the game and thinking 'I want to be like him.'"

Wes concurred, citing the vision of the likes of Paul Parker and Paul Ince in an England top as evidence that anything was possible, regardless of skin colour.

"When you're playing football, you're thinking, 'Oh, one day I want to play for England,' and be just like them," the former Red said.

The same is true for Tullis-Joyce, who joined for the second half of the podcast and revealed that black achievement outside of football had inspired her, from inventors to athletes.

Basketball player Nate Robinson, former USWNT star Briana Scurry and Ashleigh Johnson, the first African-American woman to play water polo for the US Olympic side, all spring to mind for Phallon as cultural touchstones.

"There's been plenty of people, influences in my life, that come from the black community," she said.

Wes reckoned that Anderson likely experienced more frequent battles with racist abuse, and while all three guests recognised that improvements have been made since the former Nottingham Forest man's heyday, there was consensus that there is more work to be done.

One example of this offered by Anderson was the racial abuse suffered by Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka following penalty misses in the Euro final in 2021, just five years ago.

"You look at the three lads that missed a penalty for England, the abuse they got on social media, that's not acceptable," Anderson said.

"It's not a platform for them to abuse people under different pseudonyms, so I think it's really important social media is used properly, in the right way."

Anderson recognises the importance of initiatives like the Premier League's No Room for Racism campaign, and others that he's involved with, for attempting to combat the issues that remain.

"It's about awareness," he continued.

"And I think it's important, even taking the knee, somebody watching that game in Azerbaijan, they're saying, 'Well, why are they taking the knee?' and somebody explains it to them.

"It's still a poignant thing for me.

"Education's a big, big thing – the earlier you get them, the better."

Over the course of the podcast, it was reinforced that progress has been made, but much of this work is still ahead of us.

"It's a million miles away from when I started," Anderson concluded. "But there's still a million miles to go."