It’s poignant that Lord Herman Ouseley’s death fell during Black History Month.
The founder and former chairman of Kick It Out passed away on October 2 at the age of 79 after a short illness.
Phrases such as ‘trailblazer’ and ‘pioneer’ are often used lightly. They are appropriate when speaking about Lord Ouseley, defining a man who helped to break down barriers and drive change for racial equality in society.
“This is an enormously sad day for the family and friends and loved ones of Lord Ouseley first and foremost because this is a personal tragedy for them,” Sanjay Bhandari, current chairman of Kick It Out tells The Athletic. “But more generally it’s a very sad day for everyone associated with Kick It Out and for everyone associated with English football.
“He was an absolute giant in the fight against racism, discrimination and all forms of hatred. He dedicated his life to fighting injustice, not just to Kick It Out, but in the rest of his life and his career.”
Ouseley spoke truth to power and did so way before his groundbreaking foray into football in 1993, serving as chief executive of Lambeth Council, the first Black person to hold a post of its kind in the UK, and as chair and chief executive of the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) between 1993 and 2000.
The context of 1993 was important. That April saw the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence, an 18-year-old Black student who was attacked by a gang of white males. In June, Paul Ince was named as England’s first Black captain. Progression, perhaps, on the field of play. But before that, in the corridors of power, Ouseley was hard at work, working for the betterment of Black people in football and wider society. His role with CRE gave him a mandate to affect change in football, and he began work in earnest to build relationships with football bodies and clubs to tackle racism. Many were in denial about the problem.
Sanjay Bhandari (left), the current chairman of Kick It Out (Shane Anthony Sinclair/Getty Images for LTA)
On August 12, 1993, Ouseley, set up the Let’s Kick Racism Out of Football campaign along with then-Chelsea defender Paul Elliot, with support from PFA Chairman Gordon Taylor and players such as John Fashanu. Four years later, the organisation was formed. Ouseley chaired this for 25 years. During that era he didn’t take any money from the organisation, highlighting a genuine want to drive change without profiting on the back of it.
“Herman has been the vanguard of change in this country over the last 50 years,” Elliott says. “He was such a dominant force at the roots of our community dealing with the issues of institutional racism, really fighting for fundamental human rights for Black people.”
At the time, Elliott was captain of Chelsea, the first Black player to wear the armband, having joined from Celtic in 1991 where, despite being named the PFA Scotland’s player’s player of the year, he was subject to horrific racial abuse. It was a common theme throughout his career.
He first met Ouseley at a community event later that year in south London and was taken aback by his determination to make a change within the game.
“He said, ‘’We have to challenge this, we have to be stronger together as a community’”, Elliott recalls. “He was a strong, formidable man, but highly intelligent and he really brought me into the politics of football, understanding the issues about human rights and the right to work in a racism-free environment.
“He planted the seeds in my mindset. He told me about his vision and that formed the collaboration between us, and the start of a great 30-year friendship. He was the single biggest influence on my life outside of my mother and grandmother, and 30-plus years later he was still driving that change.”
Through Kick It Out and his work in wider society, Ouseley laid the foundations for the more diverse footballing landscape we see today.
“He got close to power, he was strategic,” Elliott adds, citing Ouseley’s relationships with David Dein — who, at the time was vice-chairman of Arsenal — and David Davis, who held a number of senior roles at the Football Association.
“He got in the ‘room’ by being elegant, articulate; using their parlance. And when he got in the room, he was like a tornado. He was dominant, in a very constructive, articulate, thoughtful way and tapped into the hearts of minds of those present. That’s what I’ve learned from him.”
Paul Elliot praised Ouseley (Christopher Lee/Getty Images)
After a 20-year stint at Kick It Out, Elliott is now vice-chairman of Charlton Athletic, driving their EDI agenda, a special advisor to the FA and represents the organisation with UEFA on its human rights board.
Elliott described himself as a “disciple” of Ouseley’s. The likes of himself, Troy Townsend and many others have taken on the mantle to affect change in the game. Another is Leon Mann, founder of the Black Collective of Media in Sport (BCOMS) and the Football Black List, and also of production company Refresh Sports. He worked with Ouseley early in his career.
“Herman didn’t suffer fools, so it was intimidating at first speaking to him,” Mann says. “But, from a perspective of, ‘Wow, this guy is like a superhero’ because of what I observed as a young person in the industry at the time and how he would command the respect and attention of a room.
“I learned a hell of a lot from him, just in terms of his attention to detail and how he projected his authority. But also in the way that he gave people attention in the room, regardless of how they were perceived to be important or not.
“He looked everyone in the eye when he spoke to them, and he listened. And I think when you marry up all of those skills, you can see why he was a huge success as a campaigner and as a leader.
Kick It Out’s impact report, released on the organisation’s 30th anniversary in August 2023, highlights the work Ouseley undertook. Sixty-seven per cent of those who experienced discrimination before the organisation was founded say that they experience it less often now, due to its work. Seventy-nine per cent of those who’ve heard of the anti-discrimination organisation stated it has contributed to a more inclusive game, while 73 per cent believe football has become more inclusive.
“We as a whole feel privileged to stand on the shoulders of the giants who have gone before us in the battle against racism and discrimination, and Lord Ouseley was an absolute giant amongst giants,” Bhandari says.
“Football didn’t necessarily accept that it had a role in tackling racism and discrimination in broader society. He was in an environment of incredible resistance, so it takes a real pioneer with incredible optimism to build an organisation from scratch, to say that we as a society, can challenge this.”
Townsend joined the organisation in 2011, initially as a volunteer before rising to become its head of player engagement before leaving earlier this year.
“There were many days when I felt that football had stopped listening, but the one common denominator through all of those times was Herman, he says.
“He mentored me, and he didn’t even know he was mentoring me. He gave me the time of day and taught me how to act in a footballing environment.
“I was just hanging on his every word because I was so taken by the way he dealt with the pressure of the game and the pressure of being the organisation that’s there to challenge the bigwigs as such. But because of his determination, his dedication, his vibrant spirit, this organisation was always gonna go head and toe with those who have more money and more resources.”
A few months after Townsend joined came a seismic incident in English football involving John Terry and Anton Ferdinand. Terry, then of Chelsea, was alleged to have called Ferdinand a “*f****** Black c****”, which he denied. He was charged with using racist language by the Crown Prosecution Service but was found not guilty in court. After the case, the FA charged Terry for using “abusive and/or insulting words and/or behaviour” which “included a reference to the ethnic origin and/or colour and/or race of Ferdinand”. He was fined £220,000, given a four-game ban and stripped of the England captaincy, which led England manager Fabio Capello to resign from his post.
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Kick It Out received a lot of negative press at the time. Many felt they should have done more — even going as far as sanctioning Terry themselves, which they did not hve authorisation to do.
“But then I saw Herman at his best,” Townsend says. “He was not going to allow people to disrespect the organisation — a small charity with six people — and he was out there pulling punches, fighting fire with fire and making sure that there was a level of respect on the organisation.
Ouseley speaking in 2018 (Alex Broadway/Getty Images)
“You turn on the TV and I’m seeing the chairman of the organisation holding court. We didn’t create that situation, or the Luis Suarez/Patrice Evra situation (which happened in the same month) but many people felt that we were the problem. But it was then when I got to see the man in full force.”
There was a strive to not only to inform football and the wider public about Kick It Out’s role as a charity, but also highlight the severe lack of funding it received. It put pressure on the FA and Premier League to provide it with more funding to carry out important work. It succeeded, as funding increased, but it was small change compared to the billions of pounds circulating in the sport.
“At that point, the organisation could have gone one of two ways,” Townsend says. “It could have folded, with people saying we’re not fit for purpose, or it could help Kick It Out develop. Thankfully it was the latter and that was down to Herman who, to use a football phrase, played a great game.”
Ouseley served with distinction until his resignation in 2018. This, according to the Guardian, was born from frustration at his fellow trustees’ handling of a personnel issue within the organisation which was later probed by the Charity Commission.
As the old adage goes, there is still work to be done. Racism and discrimination are still prevalent in the game. There is still a lack of Black managers and coaches. There is minimal Black representation in boardrooms and decision-making positions in the game. But the progress seen today, undoubtedly, would not have been possible without the work of Lord Ouseley.
Receiving a Knight Bachelor in 1997 for services to community relations and local government and being made a life peer in 2001, sitting in the House of Lords as a crossbencher until his retirement in 2019, is not near enough recognition for the work he did. He laid the foundations for those who followed to build on his important work. He did so much to make football, and society, a better place for all.
A speech of Ouseley’s which is being circulated again following his passing was a perfect example of him speaking truth to power.
“What I hate most,” Ouseley said, “is people who have got power to do something about inequalities, injustices and unfair treatment doing absolutely bugger all.”
Progress, on his watch, has been made. It’s now up to the generation of today, and those that follow, to take that forward.
(Top photo: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Premier League)
