Players Views

Shola Amoebi

England

Could you tell us a little about your background?
My dad came over when I was five. He did his PhD at Newcastle University. At first he was just going to come over himself, but he needed his family for support and so we came over nine months later. That was just before I turned six. The first thing that I really suffered from was the cold.

What do you think about asylum seekers being deported?
Yes, there are a lot of cases like that. We've had friends, close friends that have been deported because no-one gave them the chance to stay. You know we were very lucky in our case that my mum was working as a nurse in the NHS so that helped and my dad was doing his ministry here.

Has the level of racism improved in the time you have lived here?
When I first came here, 15 or 16 years ago, there weren't many black people around. It was tough, especially at school, we were the only black kids. But I've been brought up to have a strong will and to not care about what people think as long as you've got belief in yourself and your family. You can overcome anything and that's what has been instilled in me as a child.

Why has there been a decline in the amount of racism?
Campaigns like 'Show Racism the Red Card', make people aware of the fact that racism is wrong. People in those days thought it was right to be racist, they didn't know any different. If people see that their heroes are seeing it as wrong, they're going to want to listen to them because they're going to want to follow what their heroes are saying. In football, the racism was a major factor and we've seen the decline in racism in football and now the number of multicultural players in the Premiership and the league has gone up massively. It's a testament to the way that these campaigns have really taken off and really got through to the hearts and minds of people in the British public. There is a lot of animosity towards asylum seekers at the moment.

What would you say to a young person in that situation?
It is hard for someone to come from an environment where they're comfortable and come to a totally opposite environment. Don't make people feel alienated because that is the worst thing that you could do.

What kind of world do you think it would be if we all had to stay in our own countries and we weren't allowed to mix?
You need variety in the world to push forward. Some cultures can help other cultures and vice versa. That's how we grow as people.

Trivia

Favourite Book: The Hobbit
Favourite Film: Bad Boys
Most Admired Person: My Father
Favourite TV series: Friends
Favourite Player: Pele