CAN SPORTS EVER BECOME
THE EQUALIZER?
Sports has its own language. Sports is
something that can be used for bringing nations
together from far and wide. Although it is one
area that has the potential to influence society,
unfortunately it still remains one playing field that
has huge gender pay gaps, gender inequality
and inequality in terms of representatives from
the diverse population.
Addressing inequality in sports has become
somewhat a talking shop, bringing about very
few changes. In the United Kingdom, we have
many agencies that have set up projects to
tackle inequality in the world of sports. But what
has happened is that this has now turned into a
business venture with very little opportunity for
partnership and collaborative working.
AGOPE – A GOAL OF PURE EQUALITY
DyNAMC • ISSUE 12
10
Nick Nicolaou and
I set up A Goal of
Pure Equality to
tackle
inequality
in football. Nick is
from the financial
world but has a
real passion for
football. He has
enabled AGOPE to
reach out wide to all
sections of the community in the UK, including
ex-footballers who have their own stories to tell.
This was our brainchild and we both became
partners of this new initiative when we found
that countless projects that were being set up
were not really addressing the underlying issue
of discrimination on the playing field. Nick had
a serious football injury with life threatening
ramifications due to operation practices that
ended his thirty years of playing the game.
Equality in football was the obvious answer to
keep his passion alive.
By Navrita Atwal, Chief Executive
Milton Keynes Equality Council, England
DyNAMC Advisor Board Member
INCIDENTS OF RACIAL ABUSE AND HATE
CRIMES AIMED AT FANS ON MATCH DAYS
AND PLAYERS FROM A BLACK ASIAN
MINORITY ETHNIC (BAME)
background still exist; although awareness has
certainly risen and tolerance much less than the
games being played 20-30 years ago.
Despite approximately one third of players
coming from a BAME background, only
3-4% actually secure football management
positions once their playing days are over.
Such appointments are in most cases given to