‘I’d like to see players taking the knee at grassroots and youth football level’ – Havant mayor and Denmead goalkeeper Prad Bains

That’s the verdict of Havant mayor Prad Bains on the impact made by the Black Lives Matter movement during the last 10 months.

Bains has been delighted to see elite athletes throw their support behind BLM by taking the knee at high profile events worldwide since the death of George Floyd in America last May.

Players continue to take the knee at all Premier League games; World champion Lewis Hamilton showed his support for BLM by taking the knee prior to Formula 1 races; Cricketers continue to take the knee at international, club and T20 franchise level.

Now Bains would like to see sports governing bodies such as the Football Association extend the message far beyond the top flight of English football.

‘Black Lives Matter is a really positive movement - it’s about diversity, inclusion, and I really support all that,’ he said.

‘There’s so much emotion and passion behind their message.

‘It’s had an impact already, and I don’t think the message will ever be lost.

‘It’s not going to disappear, it’s only going to get more amplified.’

Bains is a trailblazer in local politics - not only the youngest ever Mayor of Havant, he’s also the first from a BAME background.

‘I’m really proud of my Indian heritage - it’s certainly not something to shy away from and not talk about,’ he remarked. ‘And that’s the same of people whatever your religion, faith, race or background. None of those factors should be an issue.

‘I’m 100 per cent in support of Lewis Hamilton taking the knee and the Premier League doing the same.

‘I would be happy to see players taking the knee for as long as it takes, otherwise you’re not going to get the result that we are all striving towards.’

Bains, a goalkeeper at Hampshire Premier League club Denmead, is in favour of players taking the knee on parks pitches across the country in addition to the likes of Anfield and The Etihad.

‘I don’t know why it doesn’t happen in non-league football or at grassroots level, in children’s football.

‘It’s about what it (taking the knee) represents, and that’s the same whether you’re an elite sportsman or someone involved at grassroots level.

‘I would fully support taking the knee at our level, and I know everyone at Denmead would be supportive.

‘Football brings people together, football promotes equality - you need to drive it from there.

‘We have great diverse communities that we need to shout about and be proud of.’

‘If we really want to get the message across, we need non-league football and grassroots involved.

‘It’s really important to continue to get the message out there to improve the awareness of equality.

‘It’s really important at all levels of sport, and for society as a whole, that everyone stands together.’

Taking the knee at elite football matches is no longer across the board - some clubs at Championship and EFL level have stopped doing it.

Last month, Crystal Palace winger Crystal Palace player Wilfried Zaha became the first Premier League player to stop taking the knee, calling it a ‘degrading’ experience.

Brentford, pushing for promotion to the Premier League, are also standing en masse with striker Ivan Toney telling the media: ‘We are being used as puppets.’

Elsewhere, in the opening round of Six Nations games last month every player in the Wales, Ireland, Italy and France teams chose to remain standing. In the Calcutta Cup tie, the majority of the Scotland team remained standing while six England players chose not to kneel.

Bains, though, is desperate for the practice to carry on.

‘I very much hope it continues. There’s no sell-by date on promoting awareness - that’s the message that needs to be put across,’ he said.

‘There’s a long way to go and the fact Premier League teams are still taking the knee tells you that.

‘It should be a message the FA are promoting throughout football.

‘I’d like to see the FA put out guidance to all their clubs saying ‘we will support you’ if you want to take the knee as a symbol of solidarity.

‘It wouldn’t cost the FA anything to do that, and it would be a really good step.’

The subject of racism remains high on the news agenda with black players targeted with vile abuse on social media seemingly on a weekly basis.

It is, sadly, not a new problem at all - anti-racism group Kick It Out revealed back in 2015 they had found 134,000 abusive messages that had been sent to footballers and clubs from August 2014 to the following March.

In August 2019, following social media abuse directed towards Paul Pogba, officials from Twitter said they would meet with Manchester United and Kick it Out.

Two years on, the sickening abuse has not gone away with Marcus Rashford, as well as his Old Trafford colleagues Axel Tuanzebe and Anthony Martial., among those targeted in recent weeks.

It is not just a Premier League problem - Swansea’s Yan Dhanda and Bristol Rovers’ Mark Little have both been targeted by online trolls.

Bains said ‘in the chase towards equality’ it is crucial all abuse continues to receive a high profile.

‘I want these things to be talked about, but naturally with more exposure you’re going to get the bad side of things coming out,’ he explained.

‘The clubs seem to be coming down on it harder, the police are taking it very seriously.

‘Just by talking about things like this as a topic is a good sign in the chase towards equality.’

Regarding his own role as Mayor of Havant, Bains said: ‘It’s really positive that people are being represented by people from diverse backgrounds.

‘But there’s still a long way to go.

‘The only thing that should matter is someone’s ability to do a job.

‘Positions should be given on merit - age shouldn’t matter, the colour of your skin shouldn’t matter.

‘Things like whether you went to Eton or not, shouldn’t matter.

‘All these things need to be looked at if we are ever going to achieve equality.’

The previous youngest Havant mayor was ‘in their late 40s or early 50s, I had just turned 23 when I became Deputy Mayor and just turned 24 when I became Mayor.

‘I’ve broken the stereotypical mould of what a Mayor should be. It’s great that I’m a younger Mayor, hopefully I will inspire others.

‘The council is trying to resonate with young people, so who better to represent them than someone who is young and who has that level of empathy?

‘That’s why I put my name forward.

‘Hopefully it’s paid off - it’s been beneficial (during the pandemic) that I’m tech savvy.’

Bains, a councillor for the Hart Plain ward, continued: ‘Some people do expect the Mayor to be someone more older, it can surprise some - but that’s not a bad thing.

‘It shouldn’t be all about the chains and the titles.

‘It should be about me taking the time to talk to people and hearing what they have to say, and I think people have appreciated that.

‘Instead of always wearing a suit and tie, if it’s suitable to do so I’ll turn up at an event in jeans and a T-shirt.

‘At times it’s far better to dress more casually - I think children can feel a person is easier to talk to if they’re in jeans and a T-shirt rather than a ‘power’ suit.

‘Visiting charities to help them wrap Christmas presents, our helping out at Food Banks … you don’t need to be wearing chains to do that.

‘There is a sense of tradition, though, and I respect the tradition of the role.

‘But there are times I don’t need to wear the chains.

‘I’ll turn up and listen to people and what they have to say, that’s really important to me.

‘It’s about engaging with a different dynamic, helping with the relate-ability.’

Bains recalls an invite he had last October to the official opening of Havant & Waterlooville’s new 3G pitch at Westleigh Park.

‘I was talking with the directors and they said ‘come up to the boardroom and have a drink?’

‘I replied ‘no, why don’t you come with me to the Westleigh pub and I’ll buy YOU a drink.’