Ray at the BBC

Euro Dagenham FC chairman Ray Jerome was a guest on BBC Radio London 94.9’s Saturday Sport programme to discuss the state of grass-roots football, following England’s performance at the European Championships.

Euro Dagenham FC chairman Ray Jerome was a guest on BBC Radio London 94.9’s Saturday Sport programme to discuss the state of grass-roots football, following England’s performance at the European Championships.

Sitting alongside host Phil Parry and Brentford Academy head of youth development Shaun O’Connor, Jerome shared his views in a 30-minute interview listened to by more than half-a-million Londoners.

Jerome praised the support received from the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham and stressed the importance of instilling good habits and discipline into players at the earliest opportunity.

This, he stated, can be linked to improved funding towards coaching courses and education, which are the key elements to improving the state of the game starting from the parks and playgrounds of the nation’s boroughs long before Academy’s and professional clubs cherry pick the small minority of talent, leaving the vast majority of untapped potential undiscovered.

Also on air was under-14s player Louie Taylor, who reiterated the Euro philosophy implemented by Jerome throughout Euro Dagenham’s 14 teams of ‘keeping the ball’.