My friend Ralph Inniss, who has died aged 71, was one of the first black football coaches in Manchester.
Ralph worked first as a coach on a voluntary basis with local amateur clubs until, in the late 1970s, he began in a paid capacity with Manchester City at their Platt Lane training complex, where I met him while I was playing football in 1988. When Manchester Metropolitan University took over Platt Lane in 2014, Ralph stayed on as a coach.
He changed the lives of many young people in inner city Manchester with his focus on teaching them to be the best they could be, both in sport and as a person. As a result, many of the children he helped were able to overcome the challenges of their upbringing.
Ralph was born on the Caribbean island of Aruba, the youngest of 10 children to William Inniss, a tailor, and his wife, Ruby (nee Edwards). In his teens he moved to the UK with his family, settling in the Moss Side area of Manchester and quickly finding a focus in life through sport. After attending Birley high school he got a job at Dunlop, working in their accounts department before starting as a coach for Manchester City in 1979.
The influence Ralph had as a football coach and mentor was immense, with many of his charges going on to play the game at an advanced level, but also finding success in other areas of life. In addition to his work with young people he championed inclusivity in his coaching by arranging football matches with mothers of the young people he coached. This gave many women, particularly those from ethnic minority communities, an opportunity to enjoy a sport they might otherwise have been unlikely to participate in.
Ralph remained physically active throughout his life and showed that exercise and sport do not have to end in older age. Over the years he was famed for his encouraging shout of “Can ya?” whenever someone was trying something new or challenging. Across his life he asked the same question of himself, and usually answered it in the affirmative.
He is survived by his wife, Nicky (nee Johnson), a solicitor, whom he married this year after a long relationship, five children, five grandchildren and five siblings.
