Sporting Equals - House of Commons Reception
Overcoming barriers and prejudice
Sol Campbell: "The most important thing was to believe in myself and and have a strong mental attitude. Many people would tell you, that you can't do this and don't believe in you. I have had coaches, managers, friends tell me they don't believe it is possible but you have to keep believing."
Denise Lewis: "I echo alot of what Sol said about believing in your ability and yourself but vitally important for female perspective is having that confidence, because you will have to go through many changes and challenges to your body and mentality to pursue your goals."
Annie Zaidi: "What inspired me is the people that were negative and said you can't play football because your asian, muslim, female with a headscarf, you have to fulfil other roles. They motivated me to prove them wrong and show them that I can be all those things but also a pofessional coach."
On the lack of diversity
Helen Grant MP: Change is not going quick enough but to bring about real, sustainable change you need more than one or two organisations and just throw money at them. That can be the beginning of things but you need to build on it. We need the governing bodies, athletes, politicians and even the media to push at the same level."
Denise Lewis: "We need real change at all levels and that is no just at board or competition level but in terms of the make up of organisations such as the volunteers, physio's and trainers. These are vital roles and my success would have not been possible without their support"
On the Rooney Rule
Sol Campbell: "The way the sport (Football) is structured in this country is different to NFL. They are franchises but in England each club is independent and yes we have the FA, Premier League and Football League but we have to get all the clubs to agree and that requires a change in mentality."
Annie Zaidi: "Not a fan of the Rooney rule and don't want it really. I believe in meritocracy and want the role based and my performance and I feel you will just be a statistic, as your only there to pump up the numbers of ethnic minorities."
Helen Grant MP: "Not so keen on quotas for the reasons mentioned by Annie but it is good to have targets and that will help bring the agenda into focus."
Sol Campbell: "I think we don't adopt the whole Rooney rule but parts of it we can definitely make work but ultimately we need to stop talking and the people in power need make decisions."
"
Recent Articles
International Women's Day 2021: Sporting Equals Activator East London - Janine Palm Interview
We at Sporting Equals wanted to reflect on this year's International Women's...
Sporting Equals Launch Youth Panel!
Read more about our Youth Panel and how to apply!
Katarina Johnson-Thompson opens applications to the KJT Academy
Katarina Johnson-Thompson, has opened up applications for year one of the KJT...
Jit shares his thoughts on working on the Slough Breaking Boundaries programme in 2020
Jit shares his thoughts on working on the Slough Breaking Boundaries programme...
Physical Activity Levels Disparity Identified Within Young People and Children from Ethnically Diverse Communities
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the activity levels of...
We catch up with Lauren Mudd to hear about her first year as the Breaking Boundaries Bradford Community Coordinator
Lauren reflects on her first year as part of the Bradford Breaking Boundaries...
Usman Khan looks back on the 2020 Breaking Boundaries programme through his perspective as the Birmingham Activator
We look back on the 2020 Breaking Boundaries programme with Birmingham...
Sporting Equals Terminology Resource
Sporting Equals launches Terminology Resource to further our recent work on...
CEO Arun Kang OBE Statement: Uniting The Movement Sport England 10-Year Strategy Review
Our CEO Arun Kang OBE, reviews the new Sport England 10-Year strategy: Uniting...
My first year as the Manchester Community Coordinator - James Badrock
Manchester Community Champion, James Badrock was keen to tell us about his...
Reflecting on 2020 Breaking Boundaries in Barking & Dagenham with Samir Sawhney
We sat down with Samir, our Barking & Dagenham Activator to get his take on...
Looking back at 2020 Breaking Boundaries programme in Slough with Billy Cousins
2020 from the perspective of Billy Cousins, Slough Breaking Boundaries...