It is 5pm in Brighton, the sun has set, but the skies are still teeming with rain. On a five-a-side pitch at the top of one of the city’s many inclines, a group of determined girls are being put through their paces by a coach from Albion in the Community. They’re running hard, working through passing exercises, keeping warm. And at the side of the pitch is the Premier League’s chief executive, Richard Masters, standing under an umbrella looking happy.
Masters describes the community and social programmes his competition supports as “the other half of the Premier League”. His trip to Brighton commemorates the beginning of a process that will anoint 100 “community captains”, celebrating the work of individuals in clubs up and down the football pyramid. He says: “I’ve always said if other stuff might be getting you down and you need an injection of enthusiasm, just go to a community programme and you’ll feel better about what you’re involved in.”
Since taking the top job at the world’s biggest domestic football league in 2019, Masters will have likely needed the odd injection. Called “The Master of Corruption” by one Everton banner aggrieved at the club’s profitability and sustainability punishments, he is also regularly labelled as a puppet, either of the so-called big six, or maybe the red cartel, or the collection of clubs that feature on the mobile hoarding regularly parked outside Premier League shareholder meetings reading “Richard’s Masters”. He is the face of opposition to the football regulator and the man who puts noses out of joint when he doesn’t congratulate Erling Haaland on getting a new contract. He gets it in the neck most days.
Perhaps not unsurprisingly, therefore, he feels the Premier League’s work in the community does not receive the credit it deserves. “I think that Premier League football is part of British culture,” Masters says. “It doesn’t define it, but it’s part of it. There are more than 6,000 people employed by community foundations across the country, the Primary Stars [educational] programme is active in 19,000 schools. So yes, I do think we’re culturally relevant.”
He also stands by the social values the league looks to articulate across the season. No Room for Racism, Rainbow Laces, the mental health campaign Inside Matters – all share a thread of inclusion, and the league’s support for equality and diversity comes at a time when such values are under direct attack from politicians. “The message that football is for everyone is non- negotiable,” says Masters, who rejects any claims of politicising sport. “I would just ask the question: ‘To what extent is making clear statements about discrimination, about racism, political?’ I don’t believe it is political. We are an apolitical, politically neutral organisation with multi-faith. Everybody is welcome. So to me these are not political statements.”
This season the Rainbow Laces campaign was the subject of pushback from some players, including Manchester United’s Noussair Mazraoui and the Ipswich captain Sam Morsy, who objected on religious grounds. Masters says the protest had “made us think about [the campaign] again” but not to change position. “It’s a very simple message of inclusion,” he says. “Everyone should feel like they are welcome at Premier League matches. It’s not enforced on players, it never has been, and to some extent it’s a shame that it’s been mildly politicised during that period. So whether it’s that message or another message we’ll continue to make sure that the LGBTQ+ community know that they’re welcome at Premier League football matches and Premier League grounds, whether that’s on the pitch, in the stands or in the employment chains.”
Masters says the modern Premier League is “four things together”. Not only “a fantastic football competition, it’s also an amazing story of soft power around the world, of inward investment and community social impact [which] make it unique. I can’t think of anyone else or anything else that does it in quite the same way. Of course we’re immensely proud of that and we’d like to keep all four of those things spinning at the same time in a positive direction.”
The task of spinning plates usually ends with at least one smashing to the floor, and Masters does acknowledge some tensions between his four pillars. Such as the increase in ticket pricing which has caused outrage and organisation among match-going fans. Masters cites stats that show average ticket prices across the league are £39, and the £30 away ticket rule. However, with season tickets going up and concessions under threat he acknowledges clubs have work to do. “So our clubs, in my view, fully understand their fanbase,” he says. “We are 99% sold out at matches, that is a great thing and our clubs know the value of that. I think they will get it right in the end and ensure that football remains affordable to a broad cross-section of people.”
As for the regulator, Masters remains unwaveringly sceptical, suspicious of mission creep and the throttling of the jeopardy he says is the key ingredient behind the Premier League’s success. “The essential theory is that in the interest of trying to do good in football, the regulator may come in and affect that ability to invest, that ability to inspire and the ability to deliver jeopardy,” he says.
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When it is suggested that such jeopardy is already challenged, with Manchester City champions for the past four seasons and all three promoted clubs in danger of being relegated – just as they were last season – despite a net transfer spend of about £230m between them, Masters does not buy the analysis.
“I’m not blind to these things, but also we shouldn’t overreact to one or two seasons,” he says. “City have won the league four times in a row, but two of those were final-day finishes, and every single one was a massive mountain to climb. Whilst we have got the same name scratched on the trophy, it’s incredibly competitive still to win the Premier League. We’re not blind to long-term trends, and we do understand that we have a responsibility to the rest of the pyramid.”
Masters has clearly grown into his role, more confident and relaxed than the man who had to hold the tiller as football was thrown around by the crises of Covid. Read between the lines of some of his remarks and there also appears to be more flexibility than previously. There are bigger challenges to come, Manchester City’s 130 charges foremost among them, a topic Masters says he doesn’t want to discuss. It’s an unrelenting job but one that has its benefits, and sometimes they can be found as the rain bounces off the astroturf.
Source: theguardian.com
