Kick It Out labels T-shirts protest a 'cheap shot' and tells FA to lead racism fight Taylor has been supportive of Kick It Out from the outset, appearing at the initial launch event in 1996 and offering support in recent weeks. But with the Society of Black Lawyers working to establish a black players" union to better represent the constituency, he is under pressure to convince his members that he speaks for all of them. The Terry affair has shocked the game out of any complacency that the battle against racism is over. The crudest examples of abuse may have been banished from English grounds, but a generation of highly successful black players are finding their voice, and using it to highlight issues such as the chronic under-representation among coaches and managers. This and other more nuanced fronts are opening in the battle against discrimination in football, but Kick It Out argues it does not have the power to effect change alone. Kick It Out is a charity, and receives £330,000 of its £450,000 annual funding from the Premier League, the Football Association and the PFA, each of which has a representative on its board. Ouseley and Elliott both feel the organisation became a convenient vehicle for players deeply frustrated at the failures exposed by the Terry case, but that Premier League clubs and representative bodies are a more valid target. "There has been a lot of misunderstandings about Kick It Out in recent weeks," says Elliott, a trustee since the organisation began in 1996. We are a charity, we have no statutory powers, we are under-resourced, but we have punched above our weight for years. We certainly got a bloody nose in the last few weeks, and the T-shirt protest was a catalyst for the players to bring issues that concern them into the public domain. It felt like a cheap shot but we take it on the chin, and I think the majority of players realise that Kick It Out has had a major impact in their careers. Many of them will have been teenagers when we started. Perhaps that was not fully respected or recognised. But it has brought the 21st century issues we face into the public domain. The world has changed and the issues have changed, but we still have to work together to address them. It is going to take collaboration from the FA, the Premier League and the PFA to do it. We have all shared in the upside of the successes of Kick It Out. While we were all patting ourselves on the back about the atmosphere in Premier League stadiums we always said there was no room for complacency. Now the penny has dropped. Elliott praised Taylor's leadership, saying "he is absolutely the right man to lead on these issues because I know he understands his members concerns," but Ouseley said the PFA and those with power in the game had to do more. "I look forward to hearing what the PFA have to say about what they are doing to address their members" concerns. We don't represent players, they do. They are one of the agencies with the power to effect change. We took criticism and we are committed to improving the game, but we don't have the power and resources of the PFA, the FA and the Premier League. Ultimately it is up to the big boys to carry this issue forward. St George's a distant dream for England The Football Association unveiled its £100million state-of-the-art facilities at St George's Park to widespread acclaim last month, but the major drawback of the England team's new home, its remote location, will be underlined next week. A month after Roy Hodgson enthused about his team at last having their own facilities rather than having to borrow a Premier League training ground, the senior team will be based in Manchester ahead of their friendly in Sweden on Wednesday. With the squad together in the UK for just 36 hours before they fly to Stockholm the FA says it took a pragmatic decision to stay in Manchester, using United's Carrington facilities to train on Monday, rather than going to Burton, which is almost two hours from both London and the North West. The decision means that, following their training camp last week, England's rugby team will have spent more time at St George's Park than the footballers, though the under-19s will have the facilities to themselves next week.