The FA And Refresh Productions Launch New Series On England’s Black Stars

The FA has launched a new content series that explores the experiences of Black players who have represented England.

In partnership with Refresh Productions, the multi-part series launches with a conversation between Marcus Rashfrod and BBC Radio 1Xtra presenter Sideman.

Further episodes of the series will follow through the rest of 2020, with present and past members of the men’s and women’s squads discussing their personal relationships with their national team.

Refresh was founded by broadcaster and film-maker Leon Mann, who is leading the production of Black, England and Proud in collaboration with The FA’s in-house content team.

“Black, England and Proud is a celebration of Black culture, diverse communities and the incredible contribution people of African and Caribbean heritage have made to the national side,” said Mann. 

“Vitally, it also offers an opportunity to learn more about the rich diversity of Black people in England – and our experiences – through our footballers.

“Refresh is a Black-owned production company and this series is made by a diverse team of superb talent. This collaboration with The FA and support from Facebook represents a powerful partnership and we are proud to be part of it and look forward to seeing the impact the series makes.”

In addition to the new series, The FA will also work with Facebook on a new training module to be delivered through the England national teams’ community and fan engagement programmes.

The news comes after the governing body for football in England and the social media giant both partnered with Kick It Out to support the Take a Stand campaign, a new digital initiative aimed at battling discrimination in football.

As part of that partnership, The FA will be working with Facebook in piloting a new training module with HOPE not Hate to be delivered through the England national teams’ community and fan engagement programmes.

Ronan Joyce, Facebook’s lead of team partnerships in EMEA, commented: “We are really proud to support The FA and Refresh on sharing such important conversations from black players who represented their country.

“Through this series we hope everyone can learn from the experiences of others and celebrate the contributions from diverse communities to our society.”

The release of Black, England and Proud comes just over a week after The FA launched the Football Leadership Diversity Code, with more than 40 clubs and teams committing to tackle inequality across senior leadership positions, team operations and coaching roles by signing up.

The series also begins on the back of Black History Month, during which The FA commemorated the roles that Black players have played in the history of the England teams and the Emirates FA Cup with a series of illustrations, as well as working with the Black Collective of Media in Sport BCOMS) to offer opportunities to aspiring content creators from under-represented backgrounds.

Edleen John, International, Corporate Affairs and Co-Partner for Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Director, The FA, said: “We’re delighted to launch Black, England and Proud in collaboration with Refresh Sports and Facebook.

“Ensuring that we celebrate the contributions that Black players have made to England’s history has been a key focus for us in recent weeks, not just as part of Black History Month but as means to drive important conversations around diversity, inclusion and equality among our audiences.

“Through future episodes of Black, England and Proud, we are committed to keeping those discussions going and continuing to show the importance of diverse England squads, support teams and fanbase.”

The first episode of Black, England and Proud is available on Facebook Watch.