“Stick to sport lads, stay away from politics”.
I’ve seen a lot of that going around recently when athletes/sport media outlets have joined the protests on social media about the appealing treatment of black people in the USA.
The thing is, racism is everywhere, and if nothings done it will continue to be everywhere. Some people want to deny there is a problem, some people want to deny racism is a problem at all. We want to educate.
To educate we need to listen, learn, and reflect. That is why on this weeks domestic football podcast we invited 5 black people who grew up playing football in Ireland. We asked what is it like being Black in Ireland, how does racism manifest itself, and what can white people actually do to help?
Listen to these people voice the experiences.
Our Guests
Vanessa Ogbonna plays for Wexford Youths. You can find her YouTube Channel here. Her previous series called Being Black And Irish is up there, and there will soon be new content. You can follow @heyitsmenesser on Twitter & Instagram.
Blessing Kingsley also plays for Wexford Youths and has represented Ireland at Youth level. You can follow @bkingslxy on Twitter. Follow @pintsofmalt, one of Blessing’s favorite podcasts, about 4 black men who grew up in Ireland talking about their experience.
Josh Ofem is a stylist, you can view his work on Instagram here. Follow @olivernorth300 on Twitter.
Ify Nzewi runs a football business called Route One Football. He describes it as “a seamless service that addresses the business challenges experienced by clubs, leagues and associations“. You can view the site here. Follow @Ifyn8.
Tiwani Akinlabi is a football coach and analyst. You can get him on Twitter and Instagram.
The Podcast
You can listen to the conversation here
or you can listen on Spotify below.
Also available on most podcast platforms (Player FM, Pocket Casts, Google Podcasts, etc) by searching Post to Post Sport.
What’s it like to be black in Ireland? How does Racism manifest itself? How can white people actually help? Listen to this interview about racism in Irish football and broader Irish society.
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