Sol Campbell – Players must stay anchored in social media age

Sol Campbell is one of the most famous English footballers of the past 25 years.

After rising through the ranks at Tottenham Hotspur and becoming the club captain, his free transfer to arch rivals Arsenal stunned the football world.

He went on to help the Gunners win two FA Cups and lift the Premier League twice, the second as an Invincible when Arsenal went 49 games undefeated.

With more than 70 England caps to his name, Campbell established himself as a titan of football, and now has various interests in the game as well as being a qualified UEFA-level coach and supporter of good causes.

With technology advancing all the time, Campbell was keen to share his views on the advantages and challenges that football faces in the digital age.

“I studied at Harvard for a little bit and I'm looking at football in a totally different way,” he told Calacus at the World Football Summit in Seville.

“Technology is amazing. We're going 100 mph, everything’s happening and more and more are people coming into this space of tech and sports.

“Back when I was playing, tech was a VHS video, or maybe a little later on a disc, and we would watch, say, 20 minutes of the opposition and that was it.

“You go through a few scenarios, but you had to think for yourself and think outside the box. We had a lot more players who did that because we didn't have anything else. Maybe some scouts would have gone to watch the team or you might watch the team on one of the sports channels, but you had to almost learn on the job and work out your centre forward or your midfielder pretty quickly.

“The trouble with data is that a lot of the data is driven by people not in sport. They're doing all these advancements here and there, but when you look at sportsmen and women, they’re nowhere near it.

“You had a little bit of a vague understanding of what they're trying to do, but you have to be ready for anything, any situation. Expect the unexpected.

“But now, fast forward, they have everything. They have (data on) how fast this guy can move and jog, how many passes, what kind of crosses, everything.

“Players have got lazy about studying the game. This is what's happening. I think it's good to have all that information, but then you have to allow the player to start thinking as well.

“Thinking outside the box, that’s how you win championships and win World Cups. Someone actually thinks outside the box within the structure of the game. He or she has something different that makes the difference.

“There have been great leaps and bounds in technology and I think it’s a fantastic partner going forward in sport, but you have to leave a little bit of space for athletes to start thinking and have a little bit of character as well.”

Campbell’s former team, Arsenal, were famed for their Tuesday Club, a drinking society that bonded the team during quieter midweeks, some of the sessions going on for days.

In the era of social media, players are exposed to a range of social and mainstream media touchpoints which in some ways puts them in closer contact with fans than in years gone by.

Players have to get a balance between engaging with their fanbase, supporting promotions with their partners and protecting themselves from the inevitable keyboard warriors that can hound and abuse.

Having made a controversial move from Tottenham Hotspur to rivals Arsenal, Campbell knows full well what it means to be the focus of criticism from fans.

Offering advice to today’s players, he said: “The main thing is to try to stay centred and make sure your heart, your soul, your spirit, your family, your friends, all those elements are in place.

“If you've got good friends, you've got good family and you've got a good club around you, that’s the key to get through the tough times.

“When you're anchored, you can sway but you don't drift, however choppy the seas become and when it passes, you're in roughly the same vicinity.

“Looking back, the main thing was that I had a job to do. I had to make it work, even if it wasn’t easy.

“The environment was hostile, so you’re thinking about what to do. You just have to get the job done and win. I don't think people would be allowed to put this type of pressure on one individual ever again.

“The players have got (social media) companies behind them now. A player now who has a social media following of over 50,000 or 100,000, they don't do it themselves. You’ve got to make sure that it is authentic, though.”

Campbell had managerial spells at Macclesfield Town and Southend United, clubs both dealing with financial and personnel struggles.

He has not had a major managerial role since then, something he has previously voiced his frustration about, given that other former players have been given time and opportunity at far more stable Football League and Premier League clubs.

It remains a hope of his that the barriers which currently mean less than 5% of coaches and managers in professional football are from a BAME background soon disappear.

He added: “If we go forward 50 or 100 years and then we look back at this period of time, when it comes to coaching or diversity or black coaches in this ecosystem, when you look at it, you want the best coaching, but you just want a level playing field.

“You want to allow growth, so people come and participate in a beautiful world game and it doesn't matter where you're from or who you are, what colour you are, you’re just allowed to get into this environment.

“There’s a big elephant in the room when it comes to coaches. Not just in the UK, it’s a worldwide situation that we have to address.

“Looking back they’ll say: “what happened here? Why are we not moving in a positive way?”

While coaching and management in football may not be a fair reflection on both society and the diversity in teams up and down the country, the power of sport to have a positive impact remains something that Campbell remains passionate about.

He set up ‘Kids Go Live’ to help inner city children experience live sporting events and has contributed to a wide range of good causes.

He said: “Giving back to the local community is key – there are so many things you can do to help, like player engagements or tickets or going to a school or to a hospital, to cement that connection with the community.

“I think it's a cornerstone for athletes. It's not worth you earning and utilising the fanbase or a particular community and not being a part of it. We're all in it together and really giving back to the local community, it's like tenfold.”

Campbell’s performances for Arsenal and England showed a steely confidence in the face of adversity – and no doubt he will continue to push for a more inclusive and tolerant society, both within the bounds of football and beyond.