Lord Herman Ouseley, a pioneer for his efforts in eradicating racism in sport, had his memory honoured in the recent England fixture against Latvia on what would have been his 80th birthday. In 1993, he founded Kick It Out, whose primary goal is tackling the long-awaited journey of eliminating discrimination in football.
Sam Okafor, the current CEO of Kick It Out, spoke highly of his predecessor before the match:
“You can see the impact he's made in the game, his commitment, his relentlessness to tackle injustice, you know, speaking truth to power. You know, making football stand up to the fact that there is racism and discrimination within the game as well.
“All you have to do is, you know, speak to people, and you can see the impact he made on the game.”
The commemorations of his hard and tireless work included a presentation for two former England players, Viv Anderson, the first Black player to play for England, and Luther Blissett, the first Black player to score for England. Both players received England caps before the match.
“And I think that is the biggest influence that Herman Ouseley has had, having Kick It Out, is that people accept you for who you are and don't look at your colour anymore, and I think that is amazing,” Luther Blissett reminisced, recounting a time when football looked very different.
“When you look on the pitch in the England team there now, the number of Black faces that you see, and you see Black faces more and more in the crowd as well now… and I think that is the most wonderful thing that's happened within football, you know.”
In terms of the match itself, “#ThankYouHerman” was projected on the advertising boards throughout the course of the game, and an excerpt from his documentary was played before it began.
Okafor and the rest of the team at Kick It Out have a strong initiative to continue the legacy of Lord Ouseley, continuing the battle against discrimination in sport, and the full effect of the founder’s work will forever remain firmly in the history of the fight for equality in sport:
“You just have to look at the game as well, and you can see the true impact that he had... So, we're determined to continue to build on that work that he did over 30 years ago.”
It is important to remember that although Lord Ouseley left a great, lasting impact on football, there are still issues with discrimination within sport, which Okafor is looking to eradicate with his Kick It Out initiative.
Raise Your Game is Kick It Out’s mentoring programme, helping young people from underrepresented backgrounds gain insight and opportunities in the football industry.
