27 June 2023 , 23:01
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More than 100 black players - past and present - have warned football that its diversity code has failed.
The black Footballers’ Partnership (BFP) has followed up on statistics from March which revealed a “grass ceiling” of representation in coaching and leadership roles.
It showed that while 43% of Premier League and 34% of EFL players in the men’s game are black, only 4.4% of them are managers and even fewer are in leadership roles.
That number dwindled even further over the past month when Darren Moore recently left Sheffield Wednesday - despite completing the greatest comeback in play-off history to lead the League One side into the Championship - and Les Ferdinand left his role as Technical Director at QPR.
“Clearly, black players are not given a fair chance when it comes to moving into management,” said a statement from the BFP. “The Diversity Code was meant to change all that.
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“The FA markets it on its website as a “landmark code”, designed ‘to ensure English football better represents our modern society…’ To date, not even half the EFL clubs could be bothered to sign up and those that did have rarely met their targets.”
In research carried out by leading sports economist Stefan Szymanski, Professor of Sports Management at the University of Michigan, just 29 our of 72 Premier League and Championship clubs made a commitment to improving non-white representation on their coaching staff. Sixty percent of clubs chose not to.
The research also revealed the system of voluntary compliance is failing and that, of the clubs that did sign up to the code, few are meeting their targets.
Darren Moore recently left Sheffield Wednesday (CameraSport via Getty Images)Professor Szymanski said: “The data for black representation across the game tells the story of a game continuing to struggle with its voluntary code.”
Ex-QPR boss Chris Ramsey added: “All black footballers want is to be treated fairly like our friends and colleagues from other groups.
“The numbers tell us that black representation is significantly lower than our white counterparts even when we are qualified to do the roles.
"We look forward to constructive engagement with the game to focus on their plans to deliver real change.”