Matt Maher: Football a power for good – now others must follow
In the past week two very different stories, both connected to football, have shone a light on issues of concern for all society as it emerges from the coronavirus pandemic.
On the pitch, things have been tough for Wolves of late.
Confident and assured from the moment he walked through the doors of Molineux in the summer of 2017, Nuno Espirito Santo has suddenly begun to look a little fallible, uncertain of the best way to fix the problems in his team.
Finding the solutions of which he so often speaks is occupying the vast majority of the 47-year-old’s time. Tuesday’s win over Arsenal, albeit somewhat bizarre in manner, was hopefully a big step in the right direction.
Yet away from the pressure of the Premier League season, Nuno did something which puts on-field worries into perspective. His donation of £250,000 to help launch the Feed Our Pack initiative, which aims to tackle food poverty in Wolverhampton, was a simply extraordinary gesture, one with the potential to leave a legacy far greater than any trophy.
Winning football matches can lift people’s spirits. But it can never improve their lives in the manner a project such as this might.
“I go around Wolverhampton as many times as I can and I feel the problems – the poverty, and the struggle of the people,” said Nuno last week.
“For me it’s simple: I will try to help those that are closer to me where I can really impact, which is in the community.”
Nuno’s actions and words were another reminder that while many people working in football might be very wealthy, they are not oblivious to what is happening around them.
Many are the examples of players trying to make a difference, from Marcus Rashford’s campaigning over school meals, to the #playerstogether fund which has raised millions for NHS charities.
Those are only the ones we know about, too. Many players, like many people, prefer to keep charitable contributions private. You suspect, in an ideal world, Nuno would have done the same. The Wolves head coach is not typically the type to court publicity.
This time, however, he believes it was worth it. His donation, which matched a grant from the Premier League Communities Fund, was also an attempt to inspire others, a rallying cry so that others who might be able to help, do help.
Not many people are in a position to donate £250,000, of course. But a little can go a long way when it comes to tackling the issue of food poverty.
Just £10 provides five meals for a family, £20 provides 10 meals while £30 is enough to pay for a week’s food and toiletries for a single person.
Nuno might only be a football manager yet his achievements with Wolves have given him a connection with the public the like of which a politician could only dream. He is acutely aware of his influence and determined to use it for good.
“Football manager, whatever job you do, you are a member of the community,” he said. “You are inside, you are not different to any other person. You just have different privileges that unfortunately others don’t have.”
Nuno’s call was quickly heard. In the first 24 hours of Feed the Pack being launched, a total of more than £25,000 was raised through a Just Giving page and the sale of virtual tickets to Wolves’ home match with Liverpool next month.
If his donation was the most heartening story of the past week, you didn’t have to look far to find the most troubling.
At around the same time the Nuno was explaining the motivation behind his charitable act, Albion boss Sam Allardyce was describing the hurt caused to Romaine Sawyers after the Baggies midfielder was subjected to racist abuse online.
Sawyers was one of several players targeted by faceless bigots during a week which brought the issue of how social media websites are regulated back into focus. Racism is not a new problem. The fight against it is never-ending and may well become tougher in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic.
Nuno might have been talking about a different subject yet his fears over “divisions” opening up in society struck a chord. History tells us racism tends to flourish at times of economic hardship, when false narratives can be far easier to fuel.
Education is always the biggest key but that requires time, patience and a well constructed long-term plan.
In the meantime, however, there are surely some steps social media platforms, who for so long have operated free of the rules imposed on more traditional broadcasters and newspapers, can take to tackle the problem, whether it be ensuring such harmful messages are removed or removing the cloak of anonymity from those posting them.
“While racist abuse is allowed to continue on each platform, we can only conclude that this is a choice by the companies running the social networks,” said a statement from the PFA, one of several organisations which have urged tech companies to do more in the light of last week’s incidents.
Help may be on the way in the form of government legislation which would make social media companies legally responsible for the safety of their users.
But that won’t happen overnight. Right now, these companies have a moral duty to act.
To donate to Feed Our Park visit justgiving.com/campaign/FeedOurPack
