Newspaper Headline: ‘A moment for change’
This headline is taken from the Guardian newspaper (June 9th 2020) and is a quote from the England manager Gareth Southgate about the current situation involving racism and football. The main headline is a quote from Southgate, ‘A moment for change’ which is a rallying call from the England manager – he thinks that it is now time (‘the moment’) to make changes in the game with respect to giving more opportunities to black coaches and managers (‘for change’). The headline appears at the top and in the middle of the page and acts as a frame to two different stories below: Southgate’s interview which has ‘End white privilege in football’ as its title and former Brighton manager Chris Hughton’s interview which has ‘Sterling right to speak out‘.
Southgate’s headline relates to the fact that so few players from a BAME background move into coaching or managing football sides and the England manager has demanded change. He feels that black players are disadvantaged and that white players are less so. This is a strong – and welcome – position from the manager of the national football team. In the second article, the ex-manager of Brighton, Chris Hughton, defends Manchester City striker Raheem Sterling’s comments about why some former black players do not have the same route or pathway to management as their white counterparts. Hughton uses the verb ‘to speak out’ here which means to make a statement in public – to openly show your opinions and ideas. These two articles are important in the ongoing discussion and hopefully may help to raise awareness and to bring about change.
Vocabulary
a rallying call: A way of trying to unite people or to bring people together
privilege: Special rights or advantages
to speak out: To make a statement in public – to openly show your opinions and ideas
BAME background: BAME is an acronym which stands for Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities
are disadvantaged: People who do not have the same access or chances as others
counterparts: Their colleagues, supposedly at the same level