Michael Johnson: 'Football is Watching. And We Want to See Change'

Johnson oversees England Under-21 training. (Eddie Keogh for The FA/Shutterstock)
Johnson oversees England Under-21 training. (Eddie Keogh for The FA/Shutterstock)
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Michael Johnson: 'Football is Watching. And We Want to See Change'

Johnson oversees England Under-21 training. (Eddie Keogh for The FA/Shutterstock)
Johnson oversees England Under-21 training. (Eddie Keogh for The FA/Shutterstock)

“If there’s real empathy, real honesty and authenticity, you can achieve change,” Michael Johnson says. “It would be great for football to really be a beacon but it’s going to be an interesting year to see how the clubs, the decision-makers – which at the minute do not look like me – get a grasp on this. Will they be really honest in their approach to making change? Because we’re watching. Football is watching. And we want to see change.”

Johnson, the former Birmingham and Derby defender, is talking about the FA’s new Leadership Diversity Code. He is a living example of why it was considered necessary: one of the leading black coaches in England, he is 47 and has never had a permanent leadership role in club football.

It was only after being rejected in 42 applications that Johnson first became a manager, with the Guyana national team. He is now a coach with the England Under-21 side. He has never stopped trying to advance, anxious to beat what he calls a blockage in the game.

Johnson played a part in devising the code, which launched last month. He sat on two advisory panels – one looking specifically at the role of coaches, the other with governance more broadly. He talks of his excitement that clubs and organizations have got behind the code and its targets but ask him his thoughts, and those of his peers, on this moment and the answer is not straightforward.

“It’s mixed,” he says. “There’s an excitement that it’s been accepted by the game and full props to Paul Elliott for really driving it and the FA for getting behind it. But we’ve had so many discussions, so many reports, schemes, commissions.

“We’ve seen so many over the years that we’re now at the point where, whilst it’s great, we want to know what the end looks like.

“Will football embrace it and really have a drive and get people through the door? That’s the next piece of work regarding it, will it really make the change that everybody, not just black [people] but everyone in the game and wider afield want to see: equality.”

With a series of targets designed to diversify senior personnel on and off the pitch, the code is intended to help football better reflect those who are part of it. At the risk of repeating a statistic as well-worn as it is shocking: a third of professional footballers are black, Asian or of mixed ethnicity, but there are five black managers in the game and equally few executives.

“We shouldn’t be sat here in 2020 talking about it,” Johnson says. “It shouldn’t be that way. The endgame, for me, is the best people getting through the doors for interviews, the best people getting roles. Hopefully not too far into the future we’ll see the best people are getting the opportunity to work. Then you can dismiss the code because it’s such a diverse landscape. At the minute, it’s not. You just have to look at the facts.”

Johnson believes if the code is a success it will have to go further – extending the reach of targets to include disabled people, for example – but that greater diversity will prove its value if given a chance. “Diversity opens up discussions,” he says. “It creates more debates and that ends up in better decisions.”

With several of his fellow former professionals – a group who got to know each other doing Uefa coaching masters and includes Emile Heskey and Gaizka Mendieta – Johnson is now involved in Player 4 Player, which offers advice to players approaching retirement.

This is all on top of the coaching and is tribute to Johnson’s perseverance. But that doesn’t mean he is not tired. Getting black people and other ethnic minorities a foot in the door of the game to which they contribute so much, is just the start. It’s a long way from there to being free to be yourself.

“You want to be authentic but I can guarantee you that in almost every room I go to, I will be the only black person in that room,” he says. “Which leaves me in a position where I have to break down those barriers to make people feel comfortable about me. Because there’s not enough of me in boardrooms.

“Sometimes, after doing that for a period of years and you don’t get anywhere, you’re just tired of trying to play a role. Sometimes you just want to be you. And the real you is the best version that anyone can have.”

The Guardian Sport



Swiatek Crushes Anisimova 6-0 6-0 to Win Maiden Wimbledon Crown

Poland's Iga Swiatek celebrates with the trophy after beating Amanda Anisimova of the US to win the women's singles final at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Poland's Iga Swiatek celebrates with the trophy after beating Amanda Anisimova of the US to win the women's singles final at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
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Swiatek Crushes Anisimova 6-0 6-0 to Win Maiden Wimbledon Crown

Poland's Iga Swiatek celebrates with the trophy after beating Amanda Anisimova of the US to win the women's singles final at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Poland's Iga Swiatek celebrates with the trophy after beating Amanda Anisimova of the US to win the women's singles final at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Iga Swiatek took another stride towards tennis greatness by ruthlessly tearing apart American 13th seed Amanda Anisimova 6-0 6-0 and lifting her first Wimbledon trophy on Saturday.

The big occasion turned into a nightmare for Anisimova who became the first woman to lose a Wimbledon final by that painful scoreline since 1911 and the first to do so at any major since Steffi Graf routed Natasha Zvereva at the 1988 French Open.

Already a US Open champion and a four-times French Open winner, Swiatek's demolition job at the All England Club meant that she became the youngest woman since a 20-year-old Serena Williams in 2002 to lift major titles on all three surfaces.

Her superb display on the sun-drenched lawns of London also ensured that she emerged as the first player since Monica Seles in 1992 to win her first six major finals.

"It's something that is just surreal. I feel like tennis keeps surprising me, and I keep surprising myself," Swiatek told reporters after hoisting the gilded Venus Rosewater Dish.

"I'm really happy with the whole process, how it looked like from the first day we stepped on a grasscourt. Yeah, I feel like we did everything for it to go in that direction without expecting it, just working really hard.

"It means a lot, and it gives me a lot of experience. Yeah, I don't even know. I'm just happy."

Swiatek's triumph ended a barren 13-month run for the Polish 24-year-old, who served a short suspension late last year after an inadvertent doping violation linked to contaminated sleep medication melatonin.

"I want to thank my coach (Wim Fissette). With the ups and downs now, we showed everybody it's working," Swiatek added.

SCORCHING START

On another warm afternoon on Centre Court, Swiatek got off to a scorching start by breaking a nervous Anisimova three times en route to dishing out the first bagel, prompting some spectators to get behind the shell-shocked American.

A frustrated Anisimova shrieked and desperately looked to her team in the stands for any kind of guidance after conceding yet another break point early in the second set and it was not long before her machine-like opponent pulled away further, Reuters reported.

Anisimova continued to disappointingly crack under pressure, before Swiatek completed the brutal mauling in 57 minutes with a backhand winner on her second match point to become the first Wimbledon champion from Poland.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk celebrated with a picture of himself watching a post-match interview while holding a bowl of pasta and strawberries, Swiatek's cheat meal at Wimbledon, while President Andrzej Duda was effusive in his praise.

"Iga! Today, on the grasscourts of Wimbledon, you wrote history - not only for Polish sport, but also for Polish pride. On behalf of the Republic of Poland - thank you," Duda wrote.

Victory took Swiatek to 100 wins from 120 matches at the majors, making her the quickest to get to there since Williams in 2004, and denied Anisimova the chance to become the first American to win the title since her compatriot in 2016.

Swiatek jumped for joy on court before running towards her team in the stands to celebrate her triumph. The Friends fan was equally delighted to receive a congratulatory hug from American actress Courteney Cox, who was among the spectators.

All this while, Anisimova was left to wonder what could have been as she sat in her seat, before the tears began to flow during her on-court interview.

Few would have envisioned the American to hit the heights she did in the last fortnight after she fell outside the top 400 following her mental health break two years ago.

"I didn't have enough today," said Anisimova, who began the tournament with a 6-0 6-0 win over Yulia Putintseva but admitted to running out of gas in the final.

"I'm going to keep putting in the work, and I always believe in myself. I hope to be back again one day."

It was bitter disappointment for US fans hoping for an "American Slam" this year after Madison Keys won the Australian Open at the start of the year and Coco Gauff triumphed at the French Open last month.