FA chair: Sporting Equals chair says diverse candidates must step up for top jobs
Sporting Equals chair Densign White MBE calls for diverse candidates to step up: "There is no point in us complaining about lack of representation if we don't put ourselves up for things. It's easy for people to whinge and whine but at the end of the day you have to step up."
Thursday 7 January 2021 23:36, UK
Sporting Equals chair Densign White MBE says it is time for diverse candidates to "step up" and apply for the biggest jobs in sport as the application process for the post of FA chair draws to a close.
Greg Clarke left his role as FA chairman in November after referring to black footballers as "coloured" before a Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee. Clarke, who apologised and accepted his remarks were "unacceptable", also stepped down from his roles with UEFA and FIFA.
White does not feel he has the credentials for role of FA chair but says he hopes Paul Elliot - who has been linked with vacancy - has stepped up and applied for the job.
"There is no point in us complaining about lack of representation if we don't put ourselves up for things, and I think sometimes that is the problem," White told Sky Sports News.
"It's easy for people to whinge and whine but at the end of the day you have to step up. And I hope Paul Elliot steps up and I hope he gets the job."
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- White: FA can promote diversity with Greg Clarke successor
Asked if he is applying for the position, White replied: "No, I'm not the person for that, I don't have enough experience to run the FA.
"I think it needs to be someone who is from the game, who has got the respect, not only from people within the board at the FA but also from people within the game.
"One man or one woman can make a [real] difference and there are lots of examples of individuals who have used the power of their personality and their character to make things happen."
The FA has appointed a seven-member panel tasked with identifying the next chair of English football's governing body, and there are at least two ethnically diverse candidates in the hunt for the job.
Sport England board member Chris Grant and former Muslim Sports Council chair Abu Nasir have both publicly declared their intention to apply for the vacancy.
