Calum Jacobs is the writer, author and editor who’s changing the narrative on Black players and fans in new football culture.

More than 40% of players in the Premier League are now of Black heritage but the sports media space still has its own diversity issues, creating an ecosystem that can disrespect or fail to understand the lived experience of the players or fans it’s covering. Calum created CARICOM Magazine to bring balance to this storytelling space, exploring football and broader culture through a Black lens.

He followed this up by becoming one of the first authors signed to Stormzy’s #MERKY Books imprint, releasing his first book – ‘A New Formation: How Black Players Shaped the Modern Game’ – in 2022. Commissioning essays from some of the best Black writers in culture, he immortalised in print the impact and influence of Ian Wright, Anita Asante, Andy Cole, Raheem Sterling and more.

Calum Jacobs makes the first-ever VERSUS 50 – a new list with Chivas Regal that celebrates the individuals rising up to shape new football culture. We spoke to Calum about the need for diversity in sports storytelling, the political impact of football, and how the spirit of Chivas Regal's "I Rise, We Rise" mantra underpins his work.

Looking to the future, what do you still want to achieve?

I still want to produce audiobooks and documentaries – I feel like I need to publish another book, to be honest – and to expand my creative output away from what I’m comfortable with into other areas.

How do you take inspiration from others?

I take inspiration when I see people push themselves and increase the scale of what they’re doing. I’m inspired by people who collaborate and people who are community centric. I’m massively inspired by people who just try to uplift others and have that ethos baked into who they are.

How do you hope to inspire others?

I hope to inspire others by showing them you can be a self-starter and you don’t have to wait for a brand or a co-sign from somebody that you admire. You can start from where you are, you can crowdfund – as I did for CARICOM – for your project. I believe if you start small, and you focus, you can achieve anything.

How do you see football’s role in wider culture?

Football’s role in culture is vital because it’s been massively politicised. It’s become a vehicle for all kinds of philosophies and activism, and I’m not sure people realise that. If you’re against globalisation, you can explore that by ardently supporting your local football team. Saying “I no longer support a Premier League team” can be a political act.

What’s one piece of advice you’d give to the next generation so they can score big?

I’d always advise people to reach out and message people you admire – not everyone will get back to you but very often, you’ll find that the people who feel like they’ve achieved something will want to give back. The people that don’t respond? You don’t want to work with them anyway!

What’s the biggest change we need to see in football?

I think the biggest change we need to see in football is ticket pricing. It’s very expensive to go to games and if clubs are going to have values that represent their communities, they need to bring in a younger generation of fans. The soul of football culture is rooted in the ritual of going to matches, passing that down through generations, and feeling part of something bigger than you.

What do you love most about new football culture?

I love the diversity of football culture and how so many people contribute in their own way. Whether it’s creating bootleg kits, making music about big players, starting supporter groups or writing zines – very few cultural lanes in this country can engender so much creativity in people.

Calum Jacobs features in the first-ever VERSUS 50 with Chivas Regal. Find the full list here.

VERSUS: Who are you and what do you do?

Calum: My name is Calum Jacobs, I’m a writer, editor and author. I found a magazine named CARICOM in 2017 and authored a book called ‘A New Formation: How Black Footballers Shaped the Modern Game’. I’ve also done various bits of strategy work with the biggest sports brands and culture platforms.

What was the mission behind CARICOM?

I set up CARICOM to bring the perspective of Black fans into the mainstream. I felt that when Black players were written about or interviewed, there was a real lack of nuance in the coverage. I could tell that these players of colour were being buttoned up and misrepresented, and I wanted to redress that as much as I could through my own writing.

What challenges have you faced and how have you overcome them?

A lot of the resistance I faced early on were related to going against the status quo. People struggled to take seriously the work of a magazine that was trying to intellectualise the Black experience. At that point in time, a lot of coverage on Black culture was quite derivative and people could only understand Blackness through a very narrow perception. There isn’t only one way to be Black and there isn’t only one way to be a professional athlete.

The other challenge was resistance within myself – I think a lot of creatives have this, lacking belief or having reticence because you’re worried your work won’t be received well or it’ll be too niche. People often think challenges are external, but they can be internal too.

Where do you get your motivation from?

I’m always trying to prove myself, I’ve never felt like I’ve done enough to relax – but looking specifically at the kind of work I do, sports writing, football writing, culture writing…that space is still very white and upper middle class. Those people shape the discourse and opinions that lots of people hold, and although I’m only one person I feel like I can make an impact.

What was the one thing you did that changed the game for you?

Leaning into the energy and talent of the people around me. When I first started CARICOM, I did it with my friend and he was a designer at the time – but he was quite young, I was quite young, and neither of us really knew what we were doing. We just knew we had skillsets that we could put together. Sometimes the people around you don’t even know they’ve got a skillset that they can apply to your mission, but when you unlock that it’s really special.