On the eve of EURO 2020, England manager Gareth Southgate published an article in the Player’s Tribune. Dear England was Southgate’s reflections on the last twelve months, the differences between his generation and that of his players, and the importance he and his players hold representing their country as part of the England setup.
But Dear England provided much more than an eve of tournament reflection. To fully understand why this was, and should remain, such a revered article, one must take a much wider look at the United Kingdom.
Divided country
The UK is a divided country. Half of us have no friends from a different ethnic background. Most pensioners have no contact with anyone under the age of 35 – apart from their grandchildren. A fifth of Leavers and a quarter of Remainers have no friends who voted the other way.
These divisions matter, and political commentators are perfectly happy to stoke a culture war over a divisive issue (such as the removal of statues, and on taking the knee). But the truth is that there is no real culture war – most people agree that the queen is nice, racial justice is important and that speech should be free but not rude. The tiny minority of cultural warriors only dominate our airwaves because of our divisions. And it is all too easy to believe nonsense about “other people” if we never meet “other people”.
This gives you a background of stoked disagreements, but where these lie are not neatly split by particular political lines - over Remain or Leave, Labour or Conservative, or people living in cities or smaller towns - but they are more visible when you break it down by age.
The following table is from Higher Education news site WonkHE and is worth repeating in full, showing the profound differences people of different ages feel about supposed “woke” issues:
(To read this table, a positive number means that more people support the statement than oppose it. A negative number means more people oppose the statement than support it.)
The key takeaway from this table is that the older generations feel more negatively about many key issues that younger generations feel more positively about (issues such as trans rights or taking down statues of slave traders).
Even on the term “woke”, 55 per cent of under 25s agree they are woke, compared to just 10 per cent of over 55s.
Taking the knee
Recent research by the Telegraph found more people in general support taking the knee than oppose it (37 per cent to 28 per cent opposing), but for 18-24s it’s 50 per cent support – while for those over 65, it’s 30 per cent support and 46 per cent oppose.
Southgate addresses why his players take the knee in Dear England. He says:
“Our players are role models. And, beyond the confines of the pitch, we must recognise the impact they can have on society. We must give them the confidence to stand up for their teammates and the things that matter to them as people.
“I have never believed that we should just stick to football.
“I know my voice carries weight, not because of who I am but because of the position that I hold. At home, I’m below the kids and the dogs in the pecking order but publicly I am the England men’s football team manager. I have a responsibility to the wider community to use my voice, and so do the players.
“It’s their duty to continue to interact with the public on matters such as equality, inclusivity and racial injustice, while using the power of their voices to help put debates on the table, raise awareness and educate.”
There is a suggestion that “all politics is local” - and by that I mean that no single person can solve every problem going. But every person has agency and can do something to support a campaign. This is why players take the knee.
Sports starts do not believe that taking the knee will solve the underlying racial inequalities in society. But they know there is an issue in society and are doing something to highlight that.
We are all capable of small gestures to show support to campaigns. Whether it is signing a petition, sending off a tweet, donating a couple of pounds to a fundraiser. None of those one acts will, on its own, solve the issue. But taken together across thousands of people doing little things, progress can be made.
And while people may say “politics does not belong in sport”, this ignores the way young people are now more informed and keen to change the world around them. The England squad is comprised of players with an average age of just 25. It is an age group far more aware of the world around them and of the injustices many face, and are not afraid to speak up about it.
Dear England
Going back to the above table, all England’s players would fall under the younger 18-34 category. Southgate himself would fall into the middle category, while previous managers (for example Allardyce or Capello) would fall under the right hand side. They are therefore likely to have different opinions on these issues.
This is not me saying Allardyce or Capello are against taking the knee - indeed this week Allardyce said it is important for players to continue taking the knee - what I am saying is their generation are more likely to oppose rather than any one individual taking a specific view.
So while Southgate is more likely to disagree with his players on these issues, the impressive and unusual thing about Dear England is what he doesn’t do. He doesn’t say this is a waste of time, or it’s an empty gesture, or that there is no issue in football or it won’t change wider society, or that his players will grow out of it.
He does something which is hugely mature. He has clearly listened to his players, contextualised the stance and attempts to explain that to the reader. He tries to develop common ground with the reader and with the country in a way he has clearly developed it with his players.
Southgate accepts in Dear England that the world is changing and the world he - as a 50 year old white man - grew up in does not exist. He accepts there are things in the world that he just does not understand (like why players go on social media after a match when it is filled with abuse). And he knows that younger generations look at things older generations do and feel they are just as bizarre.
But the approach Southgate takes is not one of assuming his generation know better. It is one of accepting that there is not one idea of “England”, not one idea of “Englishness” and that the England Southgate grew up in is not likely to be the one his players want to grow old in.
And this is why Dear England struck such a tone with the country. In such a divided society with such intergenerational unfairness, the England manager wrote a blog which did something which a whole swathe of politicians and commentators just have not done. Used words to bring people together, calm people down, and develop understanding between generations in a changing world.
If only more of us could take note.
Dear England can be read in full here - https://www.theplayerstribune.com/posts/dear-england-gareth-southgate-euros-soccer
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