Gareth Southgate has accepted a new role with the BBC just days before England kick off their World Cup campaign. His replacement in the Three Lions dugout, Thomas Tuchel, will lead the national side at this summer’s tournament in North America. They will get things underway against Croatia before facing Ghana and Panama to round off their group stage campaign.
It will be the first World Cup in 12 years that Southgate won’t be involved in, having led England to the semi-finals in 2018 and the quarter-finals in 2022. He has largely stayed out of the spotlight since stepping down from the manager’s job after the Euros two years ago. However, the 55-year-old will soon return to our screens after accepting a surprise new role with the BBC.
The former Three Lions manager will release a documentary about himself, titled Gareth Southgate: Changing the Game for Young Men, on Monday night.
The hour-long programme, which will be presented by Southgate, focuses on the challenges facing young adult males in modern society.
The show will cover issues of schooling and negative influences in adolescence, such as the influencer trend known as the ‘manosphere’, which was recently covered by Louis Theroux in a Netflix documentary.
Southgate will also look into the impact that struggling to find further education and employment can have on the lives of young men in the longer term.
Speaking ahead of the documentary being aired on BBC One, he said: “This is the next step in my purpose to get young men and boys moving in the right direction rather than falling behind.
“I wanted them to speak openly and without judgement about what’s really going on in their lives. Through these conversations, I’ve gained a better understanding of the challenges they face.
“It’s been a fascinating experience, and I am so grateful to everyone I met who were brave enough to share their stories.
“I hope this documentary will go some way towards changing the national conversation and encourage us all to support them in realising their potential.”
In the programme, which is scheduled at 9pm on Monday night, Southgate speaks to young men who have struggled with education, employment and mental health issues as they share their personal stories.
At one point, he even travels to a prison to speak with young offenders and explore the circumstances that led to them being put behind bars.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4, Southgate explained: “I think anybody that’s worked with either sex at a younger age knows there are some fundamental differences.”
He added that preparing young people for the future in the modern day “might require a slightly different approach when we’re educating and developing young men, compared to educating and developing young women”.