In the 1970s, it was a rare thing to see a black face in the English professional football system.

It was a time when equal opportunity across the board for blacks, or people of ethnicity, in a racially charged Britain was as fleeting as the English weather.

Ricky Hill says when he played in the English leagues in the 1970s and early 1980s, black players were few, and where their talent opened doors, they were despised.

In his case, the former England international and Luton Town star had a front row seat to the demon of racial discrimination.

“Firstly, there was a major difficulty in gaining entry into the professional structure of the game for young black children as we were first generation black British children of parents from the Windrush generation. We were discriminated against in every-day life and football was no different.

“When I made my first team debut at Luton Town aged 17, I was amongst four or five black players that were in the first teams out of 92 professional clubs. That was the extent of racial disparity that existed in the mid 70s through to the 80s. What everyone witnesses currently is an obvious diversity of playing personnel, whereby it is highly unusual to see a modern day top flight team without the inclusion of black players. That was not a universal sight when black players were attempting to break through and have their undoubted talents displayed throughout the country.

“It could be lonely if you allowed your mind to reflect on the fact that you were the only black person in the stadium, including both sets of teams, both sets of supporters, directors, management, and match officials. Add to that, the constant abuse in the form of vicious racist vitriol, spitting from opposing fans, songs created to be sung by the majority of opposition supporters referencing your ‘blackness’, and the constant ‘monkey noises’ that were freely shouted throughout the entire game,” recalled Hill.

Born to Jamaican parents in England, Hill remembers that racism in football was so bad that clubs would not sign players despite their quality.

“During those times there were managers that had no issue in stating that they would never sign a black player to their side. Yet still we survived and made an indelible mark on the game, and whilst prejudices and racism still exist, we now witness a greater awareness of the bias perpetrated against those people who are Black or ethnic minorities,” he shared.

Meanwhile Hill, 60, who will be joining Jamaica’s football programme with specific responsibility to identify and help develop players aged 15 to 17 years, believes the Reggae Boyz can continue to benefit with English-born players as the team heads into the future.

“I believe that the benefits gleaned from having a combination of domestic home grown players and those players who ply their playing trade abroad can have a devastating impact if you maintain the correct balance and chemistry amongst the group. The domestic players should relish the opportunity of working with those personnel who play professionally abroad.

“The smart domestic player would observe how the foreign-based player goes about their work in preparation for training, games, team meetings and, travel assignments. There is so much more to being a professional than the ninety-minute game on a Wednesday, Saturday or Sunday,” said Hill, who played three full international for England’s senior team.

The most noted success story of mixing local-bred players with foreign-born ones came during Jamaica’s historic qualification to France ’98. Hill thinks local-based players can learn valuable lessons from understudying top-class professionals without compromising their natural gifts and abilities.

“Those from abroad will generally have experienced working with a diverse selection of coaches, therefore, may have been exposed to variations of training practices and game philosophies. I would urge the domestic player to embrace all facets of knowledge that they have the chance to from their foreign-based teammates. There will always be individually talented domestic players who should be aiming to try and perform at the highest level that they can.

“It is a process and they have to believe in the process both individually and collectively. The combination of both sets of players can be most certainly of great benefit to the national side, helping to shape the future of the national team amongst the elite levels of the Fifa rankings in time, given the infrastructure in which the required development will be allowed to flourish,” he ended.

— Sean Williams