Since the George Floyd incident on 25 May in Minneapolis, USA, tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in protest all over the world. Thousands of protestors marched in British cities in support of Black Lives Matter, hoping for better relationships in the future between ethnic minorities and police forces.
Many sporting icons have stepped forward and spoken out about the issues, including heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua, who took part in the protests in London, and Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling, who spoke to BBC’s Newsnight stating that there needs to be greater opportunity for BAME former players as administrators and coaches in British football.
The former Liverpool winger gave a recent example of disparity of opportunity amongst former players making the move to management; Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard compared with Ashley Cole and Sol Cambell.
Frank Lampard, formerly of Chelsea football club, and Steven Gerrard, formerly of Liverpool, have been given management roles at Chelsea and Rangers respectively. Sol Campbell and Ashley cole on the other hand, whilst having similar professional playing careers and achieving all the same coaching qualifications as Gerrard and Lampard have to coach at the highest level have not had the same opportunity.
Sol Campbell has managed at two clubs since retiring as a player; with Macclesfield Town and Southend, two lower-league clubs. Ashley Young, the former Chelsea and England winger is currently on the coaching staff for Chelsea’s under 15s after retiring from the professional game in 2019.
Raheem Sterling said: “Give black coaches, not just coaches but people in their respective fields, the right opportunity. I feel like that’s what’s lacking here, it’s not just taking the knee, it is about giving people the chance they deserve.”
The FA announced in 2018 that an equality action plan was to be implemented t would see 5% of its leadership roles and 13% of England coaching staff were from BAME backgrounds. These targets are set to rise to 11% and 20%, respectively, by 2021.