Vieira, Richards and Nicol spread diversity message for Black History Month

Club

6 Oct 2022

Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira and men and women’s players Chris Richards and Leigh Nicol joined important conversations around race with young south Londoners to mark Black History Month and the Premier League’s No Room for Racism campaign taking place this weekend.

As part of the No Room for Racism campaign, Vieira joined conversations with 20 students from Palace for Life’s Targeted Intervention programme – which aims to divert young people away from crime – to talk about his experience dealing with racism in his career, diversity within the Premier League and the club, and how football can be used as a force for good when combatting racism in society.

Vieira was born in Senegal before moving to Dreux in France when he was a child, and has played in France, Italy and London, before managing New York City F.C. in the United States.

Vieira is currently the only black manager in the Premier League and believes football can be used as a positive example to show how people from different backgrounds can live in harmony. Speaking to the students, he said: “Football is a really good reflection of our society. I think we should use football to talk about our differences, and those differences shouldn’t stop us from living well together.

“An example is just looking at our dressing room, people come from all around the world, and we accept our differences and work and fight to win football matches together.”

No Room for Racism is a campaign created by the Premier League which exists to tackle racism on and off the pitch and to promote equality and inclusion across all areas of football.

October also marks Black History Month in the UK. It celebrates the historical achievements and contributions of black people in this country and around the world, as well as what more needs to be done to ensure our education system is fit for purpose.

New Palace recruit Chris Richards and Palace Women's PFA Community Champion Leigh Nicol visited St Chad's primary school in Selhurst to join discussions with pupils about the importance of Black History Month, black role models who have inspired them in their lives and careers, and the benefits of having a multi-cultural dressing room at Palace.

Richards grew up in the traditional ‘deep south’ in the United States, so was always aware of the racism young people can face. He said: “Black History Month means a lot. Coming from a black family, it was definitely something relevant when I was growing up, and is still relevant today. It’s great to be able to teach younger kids about it, and hopefully they carry it with them in their lives.”

During the workshop, Richards said one of the black models in his life is Barack Obama. Explaining why, he said: “He was somebody who looked like me and was in a high-powered position in office. It was the first time ever and I think it’s really good to see somebody who looks like you. It’s always great to see that representation, no matter what level it is.”

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Nicol, whose regards ex-footballer and now BBC broadcaster Alex Scott as a role model, said: “It was great to visit St Chad’s primary today to celebrate Black History Month and educate myself further too. It was brilliant talking to the little ones and hearing how much knowledge and understanding they have already.”

Black History Month and No Room for Racism workshops are taking place across many of Palace for Life’s programmes during October. Keep an eye on Palace for Life’s social channels to see what they get up to.

And for more information on Palace for Life Foundation, head to palaceforlife.org.

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Chris Richards

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