Anti-racism campaigner and founder of Kick It Out Lord Herman Ouseley has died aged 79.

It is believed Lord Ouseley died on Wednesday after a short illness.

He was chairman of Kick It Out for 25 years, which he founded to tackle racism and discrimination in football.

He sat in the House of Lords as a crossbencher from 2001 until his retirement in 2019, and also served as the chief executive for the Race Equality Commission after a long career in local government.

Kick It Out paid tribute to Lord Ouseley this afternoon, saying he was a “titan” and “a fearless advocate for underrepresented and disadvantaged communities and will be sorely missed”.

“Lord Ouseley’s vision to set up Kick It Out was the first true structural change in football to take on a problem that had blighted the game for decades,” the group said in a statement.

“Fans and participants are now more aware of discrimination and how to challenge it, which is a legacy of the tenacity and vigour he showed in ensuring football continued to change.

“We owe him a huge debt of gratitude and vow to continue that legacy for the benefit of future generations.”

The Football Association (FA) said Lord Ouseley was a “trailblazer in English football”.

“He played a hugely inspirational role in tackling discrimination across our game while advocating for underrepresented and disadvantaged communities,” it said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Troy Townsend, an ex-footballer and activist said he owes Lord Ouseley “a debt of gratitude for everything you did for me, for football and society” in a tribute on social media.

Labour MP Diane Abbott also paid tribute to Lord Ouseley, calling him “a pioneer at the top levels of local government”.

Born in Guyana, Lord Ouseley moved to London aged 11 and was a local government officer for 30 years, serving as race relations advisor in Greater London Council.

He was also chief executive of Lambeth Council and the former Inner London Education Authority.

But it was his support of south London team Millwall FC which led Lord Ouseley to establish Kick It Out.

He told the Associated Press in 2018: “Twenty-five years ago football was a basket case with violence outside the grounds, inside the grounds.

“On the pitch, black players were being abused and they were keeping their heads down because the only way to stay on the team, not have an adverse effect on your performance and also to keep your own dignity… was just dealing with those problems in their own way.”

In that interview, he also revealed how he “found ways to deal with” discrimination in society.

“I’ve got a resilience that can deal with the prejudice and stereotypes and having experienced it virtually all my life.

“Very often you know something’s happening that is not the right thing. You make a determination is this is not the right place to challenge it. Sometimes you make a decision, well it’s not worth it, and other times you might want to take it on. It exists.”

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