Sports Gazette

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Exclusive Carl Anka: The Conversations Beyond Football

October 31, 2024

“Are you aware of the phrase how the sausage is made?” 

Carl Anka referenced the phrase as he sat down with me to give an exclusive interview for the Sports Gazette. An intriguing but unexpected answer to my question of whether the sports journalism industry met his expectations.

“Sausages are made from meat products and miscellaneous items, and there is always a joke that [people] often say where if a person who eats sausages realise how sausages were made, they would probably no longer eat sausages ever again. 

“When people go, ‘I’d love to be a football journalist’, I’m like, cool. It’s great. You get paid to go to football games, and you learn transfer news way before most people learn that.”

He continued to explain the unglamorous side of his work, “You also spend a lot of time in car parks. You spend a lot of time very cold in not the top football stadiums but in really cold academy grounds because you’re waiting; you’re looking at the next big thing.”

Whilst a career in journalism was not his initial aspiration, Carl Anka has become a well-established figure in the industry. From covering Premier League club Manchester United for The Athletic to co-writing ‘You Are a Champion: How to Be the Best You Can Be’ alongside Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford, the podcast co-host has built up a career few would not envy. 

When I sat down with Mr Anka last week, the phrase ‘how the sausage is made’ to describe the industry was one unexpected from a man who had managed to become a respected individual in that same industry. As the interview continued, the relevance of the analogy became clearer. Not only in the way he explained but also in the reality of being an aspiring Black man venturing into an industry where he has to work twice as hard to succeed. 

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Diversity in the Sports Journalism Industry: Why Does it Matter?

For Mr Anka, one of the most compelling aspects of the industry is just how big it can be. He said, “You can use football as a way to talk about anything on this planet because football touches on economics, history, politics, geopolitics, and that’s the bit that excites me.”

In an industry so large, it was damning to learn that Mr Anka remains one of the few Black British beat reporters employed full-time by a large media company. 

When asked to share his thoughts, he said, “It’s very concerning to me.

“I go to Old Trafford twice a week. Twice a month minimum because of the home games. I will walk down, and there will be a steward, and most of the stewards will be Black or Asian minority. They’ll check my bag, and they’ll check my pass.

“But the moment I walk into the press room, and I pick up my accreditation, I am the only Black person working in that room.”

He added, “Now the question is, historically, why does this matter? Why does it matter if all the journalists are Oxford or Cambridge-educated people from the counties or local Mancunians?

“The rebuttal I’ll give you is that we are now in an age in the Premier League where 30% of players are non-White. There’s only one Black referee and only one Black presenter in Premier League football, and the first time he presented a Premier League game was on Amazon Prime two seasons ago. 

“In the 32-year history of the Premier League, the first time there was a Black presenter of a Premier League game of football was two years ago.”

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The Approach to Diversity by Sports Media Companies

When the question of diversity within the industry is posed to a greater audience, naturally, concerns about objectivity are raised. 

In response to these concerns, Mr Anka told the Sports Gazette, “The argument I make is if we are as a football culture familiar with players giving interviews in their native language.

“If you are doing a magazine segment on a Champions League show, and they bring out a player like Ander Herrera, if [he] isn’t comfortable yet speaking English, [he] will have a Spanish translator or someone doing subtitles because we all understand that the best way for somebody’s personality to come through is to have someone talk to them in a language they understand.

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“Yet for years, when we talked about how maybe it might be worth hiring more journalists from South London to talk to players from South London, we were told about objectivity [from] the people coming from the historic institutions.” 

Companies’ approach to diversity in the workplace does not only extend to the roles Black British journalists are not offered but the ones that are. When October rolls around, there appears to be a greater demand for their expertise. 

When working as a freelance journalist, he recalled, “I got a lot of work in October because lots of companies would go, ‘Come on, it’s Black History Month, do you mind coming in?’ and then from November to the rest of the year, they wouldn’t contact me because they didn’t need me.

“As we saw, a lot of companies put black squares on their Instagram in 2020 and then made a big effort to say look, ‘Black Lives Matter’. Here’s these new members of staff we’ve hired, and then when people started going back to the office, a lot of those jobs got quietly muffled or closed.”

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The Willpower to Succeed: A Role Model in the Sports Industry

The approach to diversity is an issue that not only concerns journalists but is felt by all those working in the sports industry. 

Mr Anka recalled an interaction back in 2020: “I remember it was the Euro 2020 semi-final.

“One of the security guards came up to me after the game, and he said, ‘I’m really happy that you won, but I’m also really happy that you’re here to tell that story. It’s great watching the England team being inspiring with all their players, but it’s also great that there are more of us here writing about it.’” 

When asked how it felt to be seen as a role model for others in an industry where those similar to him are underrepresented, he said, “This was a gentleman who was old enough to be my dad or my uncle.

“Again, in the same way, I didn’t really envision myself being a sports journalist. People have called me a role model, and people have called me an inspiration, but I’m just trying to do me, and I’m going to try and help people who ask for help.” 

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Existing in a space where you are surrounded by people who do not share the same experiences as you may resonate with many. Knowing that you have inspired positive change – that you are reflective of the change you wished to see is an indescribable motivator. 

As a Black woman aspiring to succeed in an industry where many do not share the same experiences as myself, I wanted to know what drove Mr Anka to triumph in a field where few similar to him have. 

“Sometimes it’s spite. Sometimes, it’s the fact that I’ve got to pay rent, but most of the time, it’s the fact that I know I’m not finished yet. I’ve still got plenty in the tank. I know I can take this further, and my parents didn’t raise someone who would drop a seven out of ten when they knew they could get a nine.

“Why do I keep on doing this? Because I’m good at it,” he said. 

A Brutal ‘Reality’ For Black British Sports Journalists

So, how is the sausage made? 

“If you’re the sort of person that football is your dream and it is your passion and it is the thing that gets you up in the morning and you see a football journalist and think, ‘that job looks amazing’. Great!

“There is also what you don’t see on Instagram,” he added. 

The hours spent waiting in cold car parks hoping to catch a glimpse of a Premier League player. A 300-word article due the next morning only having left the stadium grounds at midnight. Yet, these are the requirements of the job that we might attribute to the meat or the fat of the sausage. We know they exist but are rather unfamiliar with their role in the overall culinary process.

The other side of the journey is one that few will realise before encountering the industry first-hand. The unfortunate reality of being a Black man in the industry is one that Mr Anka has begun to accept. 

He told the Sports Gazette, “I know that there is a ceiling to how far I can go. Brutally put. There is always going to be that football fan who goes, ‘What does Carl know when he has never played the game?’ Because there is a certain type of football fan who is unable to compute that a Black person might understand football without having played it to a high level first.

“In the meantime, I’m going to do what I need to do, which one is to keep improving as a writer and improving as a video and podcast presence and [help others in the industry].” 

A brutal conclusion for certain, but the career that Mr Anka has had and the one that undoubtedly awaits him is an achievement that no one can undermine. 

Author

  • Kyrenia Shipillis

    Kyrenia is a London-based Editor for the Sports Gazette. A devoted Paris Saint-Germain fan, she is interested in writing about the development and events within Football Leagues abroad. Kyrenia also runs a successful Football TikTok account where she analyses the tactical, environmental and political issues concerning the sport.