Emile Heskey has expressed his desire to replace Greg Clarke as chairman of the FA following the latter’s resignation on Tuesday.
Clarke resigned from the role with immediate effect after using offensive language when talking about black footballers during a video call with Parliament.
Emile Heskey Keen to Replace Greg Clarke as FA Chairman
Black FA Chairman ‘Would Be Powerful’
Speaking to the inews, Heskey stated: “You have to take that leap sometimes.
“I know within football I’m probably just as respected as anyone else. But you’d have different people within there who would stake a claim as well.”
The former Liverpool and Leicester City striker, who made 62 appearances for England, believes that the appointment of a black FA chairman would benefit English football.
He continued: “It would be powerful. It would send messages. It’s been called for, for a long time.
“I would be very surprised if it was a black person. I’d be very surprised if it was anyone within football right now.
“I think there’s a network of people they tap into that doesn’t have anything to do with football and they’ll try to bring someone from there”.
Heskey’s comments come after Clarke was forced to resign from the role following comments at a hearing for the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport where he referred to “high-profile coloured footballers”, as well as claiming that gay players made a ‘life choice.’
Clarke also stated there were “a lot more South Asians than there are Afro-Caribbeans” in the IT department of the FA because “they have different career interests.”
Who Else is in Contention for the Role?
According to Darren Lewis of the Daily Mirror, Baroness Sue Campbell and Paul Elliot are the leading candidates to replace the departing Clarke.
Elliot would become the first former professional player to have the head role at the FA. He has recently led some of the FA’s campaigns to promote diversity.
Main Photo
Embed from Getty Images
