"Don't be silent. Football must unite against inequality. Join in and make football and society fair for all," says Paul Elliott
Thursday 18 June 2020 20:37, UK
Football clubs and governing bodies have been urged to "step up" and increase the level of black, Asian and minority ethnic representation at the top of their organisations by the chair of the FA's inclusion advisory board Paul Elliott.
The Black Lives Matter protests, sparked by the death of George Floyd in the United States last month, have been given prominence in English football.
The slogan is appearing in place of player names on the back of Premier League club shirts, and players took the knee prior to Wednesday night's top-flight matches at Aston Villa and Manchester City.
However, Elliott says all of that will be "an empty gesture" if it does not lead to a change in how black, Asian and minority ethnic people are represented within football, and has called on clubs and administrators to adopt the voluntary Equality In Football Leadership code.
He says he will work with other senior black leaders in the game to work on the details of the code, but the idea will be that it can create meaningful targets to improve representation.
Elliott told Sky Sports News: "This is hugely significant and the timing is right. The global world is being questioned about its values, we've been talking about social injustice, racial bias, inequalities and I feel there is a great window of opportunity for a reset.
"Football is in a position now where it has led the way. It has done some magnificent work over the past 30 years or so, but if you look at the modern-day game, you've got 91 teams and only six black managers.
"We need greater Asian representation and I think this model looks across the whole of football, where we want equality, diversity and inclusion embedded in its values from the touchline to the boardroom."
We need more role models for young BAME people beginning their careers to draw inspiration from.
Elliott said the FA's chairman Greg Clarke had already agreed to review the composition of the national governing body's Council, as well to revisit the FA's "lack of BAME leadership".
In a separate letter to the Council, Clarke wrote: "Whilst nearly 30 per cent of professional footballers in the PL and EFL are black, we have pitifully few head coaches, senior executives and board members who are black.
"Even at the FA, we have no black board member and no black SMT (senior management team) members. This has rightly been questioned by black England players and black ex-England players."
In an open letter to English football, Elliott said: "The FA board is diverse with four women and one BAME director. I attend as an observer in my role as the chair of the FA inclusion advisory board, to ensure that diversity and inclusion issues are fully represented at every meeting, however I do not have a vote.
"We need the Premier League, EFL, Women's Super League and the National League to step up and provide ethnic diversity at board and executive level too. We need more role models for young BAME people beginning their careers to draw inspiration from."
A number of high-profile names from within the sport put their names to Elliott's letter, including the managers of England's senior men's and women's teams, Gareth Southgate and Phil Neville, along with Gary Lineker and Alex Scott.
"Don't be silent. Football must unite against inequality. Join in and make football and society fair for all," Elliott added.
"Football is coming together to ensure this initiative gains genuine traction rather than be another opportunity for making speeches and hand-wringing."
Manchester City and England forward Raheem Sterling has been vocal about the lack of black leadership figures in the sport.
There are currently no black owners, chairs or chief executives at any of the 91 Premier League or EFL clubs.
