Former Super Eagles’ striker, Victor Anichebe (The Beast) has added his voice to recent protests against racism across the world, while also adding that he wants to be a club owner in the not too distant future, megasportsarena.com reports.
The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games silver medalist with Nigeria’s under-23 squad coached by Samson Yebowei Siasia disclosed that he has for a long held a burning ambition to buy a club in the latter stage of his life, but admitted that he also worries a lot about the issue of racism.
That has now led Anichebe to speak out boldly in support of Black Lives Matter Movement, while also revealing his desire to help in the growing efforts to improve Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) representation at administrative levels within football.
The 32-year-old ex-striker, who played for Everton, Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion of England during his heyday, went on to reveal that he has already held talks with his former colleague at The Toffees, Tim Howard, who recently became a part-owner of English fifth-tier club, Dagenham & Redbridge as well as American United Soccer League side, Memphis 901 FC.
While also pouting out that he experienced incidents of racist abuse while playing in England and abroad, added that he gained further insight into the matter after he attended a Black Lives Matter march in Liverpool and he was encouraged by the common desire to improve equality.
He admitted that the lack of ethnic representation in positions of power across sports have been highlighted in recent months, but Anichebe stressed that he is still unhappy that black people are obstructed in their ambitions of holding top-level roles, even after Manchester City winger, Raheem Sterling in June called on English football to address the problem.
Anichebe told Sky Sports News: “We have to have a seat at the table to really effect change. We can’t try and affect change from the outside and looking in. I have seen a couple of players say they want to become CEOs or sporting directors and I think that is what we need to do.
“We need to aspire to these positions. But also, when we aspire to these positions to get an opportunity to be in these positions. All of us together have a big role to play. I spoke to Tim Howard, who is part of a group that bought a club in America and they also own a club here.
“I don’t see why we can’t all come together [as players] and buy clubs. I do think that is another way to really affect change. Instead of wanting change, we can be the change ourselves. We can place ourselves in those positions.”
