Decrease in diverse senior management hires in English football - FA report

Nothing seems to change so we're trying to force some - Ferdinand on better pathways for black players

The number of diverse candidates hired into senior management roles in English football went down last season, a Football Association report has found.

The FA's Football Leadership Diversity Code report also found recruitment of non-senior diverse coaches in the men's game fell short of 2021-22 targets.

So too did the hiring of female coaches in women's football.

Responding to the report, Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira said he wanted the FA to be "more ambitious".

"I saw the FA's communication on what they are trying to do," said former Arsenal captain Vieira.

"I would like them to be a little bit more ambitious on that side because I don't think the numbers they want to achieve are high enough."

Vieira previously spoke of the need to encourage black players into management, but told the BBC's Football News Show that "doors are not open for us".

Prior to the report's release, QPR director of football Les Ferdinand was critical of the code's impact in tackling racial inequality.

"It's a voluntary code, so it's made no difference whatsoever because there's no repercussions for anyone if you don't follow the code," Ferdinand told BBC Sport earlier this month.

Ferdinand was speaking on the back of a separate Black Players Association report showing that while 43% of Premier League and 34% of English Football League players are black, only 4.4% of managers are black.

Meanwhile, Burnley boss Vincent Kompany this week said that better representation in football will only happen when there is more diversity at boardroom level.

The Diversity Code was launched in 2020 with the aim being to tackle racial inequality in the English game.

All 20 Premier League teams and 32 of the 72 English Football League clubs have signed up to the code, with the FA, PL and EFL exceeding in seven of the eight targets for the 2021-22 campaign.

However, there was a drop-off in the the number of senior management hires for both female and black, Asian and mixed heritage candidates, while clubs signed up to the code failed to hit six of the eight targets.

The report found:

  • 10.3% hired for senior leadership roles at clubs came from black, Asian or mixed heritage background, below the 15% target

  • The three governing bodies (FA, PL and EFL) hit that target with 15.4%, giving a collective football average (combining the bodies and clubs) of 10.4%

  • 38.5% of the governing bodies' new hires were female, exceeding the target of 30%

  • However, only 17.2% of new hires in clubs were female

  • 15.6% of coaches hired by men's clubs were from black, Asian or mixed heritage background, below the target of 25%

  • 21.2% of senior coaches were from black, Asian or mixed heritage background, above the target of 10%

  • Women's clubs failed to hit their 50% target that all new coaches hired would be female with 33.3%

When the Diversity Code was launched, former Chelsea and Aston Villa defender Paul Elliott, who was head of the FA's inclusion advisory board, said the association was trying to "modernise football" by giving "equal opportunities to those who are qualified".

In the top two divisions, Crystal Palace's Vieira, Reading's Paul Ince and Burnley's Kompany are the only black managers, while QPR's Ferdinand is the only black director of football in the country.

On the report, Sanjay Bhandar, chair of anti-discrimination body Kick It Out said: "The results on recruitment of black, Asian and mixed heritage coaches in both the men's and women's game, and the achievement of targets by the football authorities, are encouraging.

"There is also plenty of room for improvement in other areas such as senior leadership and the recruitment of female coaches.

"Two years into the process, now is a good time for pause and reflection across the industry, to share learnings and best practice. Collectively, that will enable us to increase the pace of change."

The Football News Show: 'We have to give opportunities to people of colour' - Vieira

'Still a huge amount of work to be done'

Women's Super League (WSL) and Women's Championship teams saw 15.3% of their recruits come from black, Asian or mixed heritage backgrounds, reaching the 15% target.

For team operations roles, the 13.5% of new hires from black, Asian or mixed heritage backgrounds fell shy of the 15% target, as did female new hires with 28.6% against the pledged 30%.

While the governing bodies hit seven of their eight targets, the collective football average met just two pledges: 10% of new senior coaching hires by men's clubs being black, Asian or mixed heritage and 15% of new coaches recruited by women's teams being black, Asian or mixed heritage.

FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said that the 2021-22 report "shows some signs of progress", but added that "there is still a huge amount of work to be done across the game".

"We understand that substantive change will take time, but a number of clubs have already made progress, and we expect to see more clubs follow that lead in years to come," said Bullingham.

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said: "We are pleased to be making progress but there is still much more to be done to ensure there are opportunities at all levels of the workforce - this remains a priority for us."

BBC Sport
BBC Sport

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