‘We’re so much more than that’: Stormzy opens #MerkyFC HQ centre to tackle racial inequality in football jobs

Rapper says sport, music and gaming venture in south London is aimed at widening opportunities for young black community

Stormzy has won three Brit awards, headlined Glastonbury, persuaded Usain Bolt and Jose Mourinho to star in a music video, and bought AFC Croydon Athletic with the former Crystal Palace player Wilfried Zaha.

His skills on the pitch, however, are not up to much. I'm shit at football. I was never going to be a footballer," he said. But maybe if I knew how to be a pundit [I'd have gone down that road]. Maybe if I knew how to be a data analyst or all the intricate jobs behind the scenes that people might not know about."