Aston Villa defender and England international Tyrone Mings is advocating for the appointment of a black football administrator as the chairman of the English Football Association. He said if such a step is taken, it will be a step in the right direction in the fight for equality.
Greg Clarke who has been the chairman of the FA since 2016 resigned on Tuesday, November 10, hours after he referred to the Black, Asian, and minority ethnic (BAME) footballers as “high-profile colored footballers” at a meeting with Members of Parliament.
Before he resigned, the football administrator apologized for using such a term and that he didn’t know that it would be taken as racial abuse. Hours after his resignation, it was announced that the FA vice-chairman, Peter McCormick has taken charge of the FA in an interim capacity.
McCormick who is a former chairman of the Premier League has been given the responsibility to commence the process of “identifying and appointing a new chair in due course”.
While reacting to the racial comment made by the former FA Chairman, Tyrone Mings said the fact that Greg Clarke had to resign for referring to BAME players as “colored footballers” is proof that everyone should watch what they say.
The 27-year-old center-back who is a strong supporter of the Leadership Diversity Code stated this in a pre-match press-conference for England match against the Republic of Ireland scheduled to take place at Wembley Stadium on Thursday, November 12.
The code which Tyrone Mings was involved in creating seeks to advocate for equal opportunities for all races. A fight Mings says Clarke’s comment has shown that it is far from being won.
Hence the Aston Villa defender said he would not mind seeing a back man or woman as the new FA chairman but noted that he wishes that all races are given an equal opportunity in the selection process.
“It would be I guess everything that a lot of people have worked for”, he said. “A lot of people more senior than myself. A lot of people who have been fighting for this cause for a lot longer than myself.
“But ultimately that isn’t what we’re asking for. We’re not necessarily asking for the next chairman or chief to be black.
“What we’re asking for is equal opportunities for both black and white people or ethnic minorities.
“So the opportunities to be equal, the candidates themselves to be rightly qualified for the job because I don’t think anybody would want the job – whether you were black or white – if you weren’t qualified for it and you weren’t well equipped to be successful in that role.
“So we’re not necessarily asking for that as a sign of, ‘we’ve made it now’ or, ‘this is what we’re fighting for’. What we’re asking for really are equal opportunities for everybody to have a fair crack of the whip.”
Tyrone Mings has been an Aston Villa player since July 8, 2019, after joining the club from Bournemouth for a transfer fee worth €22.30 million. This season, he has played 8 matches in all competitions for Villa in which he scored two goals and provided an assist. He made his international debut on October 14, 2019. Since then, he has played in three games for the Three Lions of England.
