Only 11 black coaches have been appointed as either a permanent or caretaker manager during the Premier League era.
One of them, Chris Hughton, believes having visible figureheads like Nuno and Port Vale boss Darren Moore, the only black manager among the EFL’s 72 clubs, remains “hugely important”.
“Instead of getting better, it’s getting worse,” the former Newcastle, Norwich and Brighton boss told BBC Sport Africa at the Best of Africa (BoA) Awards, where Nuno was recognised for his achievements.
“What I do see is that the underbelly is getting better. There are more black and ethnic coaches involved at under-21 level, at academy level, so I think there’s certainly an improvement in that aspect.
“But I think it’s in the more visible areas that we want to see more growth.”
One of the people tasked with improving the situation is Deji Davies, a director at Brentford and chair of the Football Association’s Inclusion Advisory Board, who admits there is “a lot of work to do”.
“Nearly 50% of Premier League players are black, so it’s synonymous with our people, with our culture,” he said at the BoA ceremony.
“Whilst the numbers are great on the pitch, the minute we move away the numbers aren’t as good. Until very recently I was the only black board director in the Premier League.
“The organisations involved in football need to be focused very acutely on this issue.”
The FA, which previously launched its Football Leadership Diversity Code in 2020, told BBC Sport Africa that through the introduction of mandatory reporting it is “working with the professional game to improve diverse representation”, while it has also put in place a number of programmes to diversify “the coaching and leadership workforces”.
Having established its No Room For Racism Action Plan in 2021, the Premier League said its two main inclusive coaching programmes are allowing clubs to build a “pipeline for coaches to develop their expertise across pathways and into senior roles”, with 91% of participants gaining full-time employment in the professional game.
