In the past, I had an experience taking a young Black player to trials at two London clubs – at one of them, he was the only Black player among about 30 kids, At the other, there were a lot more and he felt a lot safer because people and coaches looked like him.
Without naming any names, did you go to any clubs where you felt: “I can’t see myself making it here?” Or was it that with Arsenal you felt at home because there were other youth players who looked like you or came from the same background, with shared experiences?
I feel like Arsenal has been amazing for me because, like I said, there are so many people from different cultures and backgrounds. I remember coming here as a nine-year-old and there were another couple of kids from south London. Even at that age, I could see the scouting system wasn’t only focusing on one area or one group of people. It covers a wide area, which is beautiful to see. I remember Ian – he was from Colombia and lived in Kenton. I was in Elephant & Castle, which is a short train ride away, and at nine years old that was amazing. I always felt at home at Arsenal.
In terms of representation we’ve looked at players here, and the fanbase, but what do you think the wider football world should do to increase representation – including off the pitch as well, in terms of coaching or within clubs and organisations?
I guess I can only talk about things I know, in terms of football, and for me, the best thing is in terms of community action. I’m all about the community, and if there’s more happening in the community, and more players being scouted from different areas, that can only help people from all sorts of different backgrounds get recognised in whatever they’re doing. There are a lot of people from my old area who were coaches, youth workers who have gone on to do amazing things in different industries, and that has all come from being a core part of the community.
They’re helping kids always, and I think that’s something we’re lacking right now, especially in south London – there aren’t enough people active in their communities. You go to a pitch on a Monday or Tuesday and it will be empty, whereas when I was growing up the pitch was just full of kids. After school you’d see at least 10 or 15 kids, all in their school colours, all playing football, or at a youth club playing table tennis or getting mentored by Black, white, Asian people. That only helps to get you educated for the real world.
I feel like there’s not a lot of people doing that anymore. If we can have more of that, and more community workers involved in football, pushing kids towards whatever they want to do – it doesn’t have to be football, just in everyday life – that would help.
https://www.arsenal.com/news/reiss-nelson-why-representation-matters
