Sol Campbell believes the England national team will have a black manager before Britain has a black Prime Minister.
The former Arsenal, Tottenham and England defender is scathing about football’s approach to black ex-players who want to stay in the game but he sees light at the end of the tunnel.
He told Standard Sport: “I think you’ll get a black England manager before you have a black Prime Minister. Hopefully the pressure will be on and there will be guys who start to give black managers a chance. They are giving everyone else a chance, so why not?
“But saying that, it would still be a miracle for a black manager to be given the England job. You’d have to win three or four Premier League titles, FA Cups, not say boo to a goose and then you’d probably get the job. The FA have also always had problems with guys who are good at the job but tell it like it is.”
Campbell also called for the Rooney Rule to be applied to recruitment in football. The measure, used in American football, would require at least one black or ethnic minority candidate to be interviewed for every coaching job. At present, there are only two black managers in English football — Chris Powell, at Huddersfield, and Keith Curle, at Carlisle.
Campbell said: “If you are given a chance, you’re in the mix. Not now. But maybe later. The best way to find out about someone is to sit down and have a conversation. Until that happens, you don’t know about their qualities.”
Campbell is close to completing his coaching qualifications and hopes to return to the game. Yet he is also interested in making a contribution in other areas of life, including politics. He added: “I’m not talking about going right in there but I get sport, culture and music. Those areas would be easy for me to help out.”
Sol Campbell's defining moments...
He then added: “Maybe then I can start influencing the FA” — and dissolved into laughter.
Sol Campbell will join former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein at Lord’s tomorrow to discuss Arsenal’s legendary 2003-04 team at the London Sports Writing Festival. Tickets are £10 on the door. For more details, go to londonsports writing festival.com
