Black footballers make move from pitch to boardroom
On Wednesday night a small event will mark a big moment in the history of English football. A small group of former players – most of them of African descent – will graduate from a PFA and FA backed course to give them precious – and real – boardroom experience.
For decades black players have been breaking through the barriers of our national game, such that now some 25 per cent of professionals are black and ethnic minority (BAME). In some academies, it’s suggested that 75 per cent of the students are BAME. But the lack of black managers is no secret – with the departure of Chris Powell from Charlton Athletic, Chris Hughton (below) is now the sole figure across England’s 92 professional clubs.
And boardooms? Where the power really lies? A cursory look at the stats for the Premier League clubs illustrates a glaring lack of diversity. This makes little business sense in an industry where the front of house staff – the players – are increasingly black, and where the main brands – the clubs – are competing fiercely for new customers (fans and viewers).
Here’s the info freely available about boardroom composition via club websites and handbooks. The number of BAME directors is in brackets.
Arsenal – (0)
Spurs – (0, 1 woman)
Chelsea – (0, 1 woman)
Liverpool – (0)
Fulham – (1)
Everton – (0)
Hull City – (2)
Manchester City – (2)
Manchester United – (1)
Palace – (0)
WBA – (0)
Newcastle – (not available)
Villa – (0)
Norwich – (0, 1 woman)
Soton – (not available)
Stoke – (0)
Sunderland – (0, 1 woman)
Swansea – (0)
West Ham – (0, 1 woman)
Cardiff – (5, all Malaysian)
(Excepting Man U, it’s worth noting that in the clubs with an apparently ethnically diverse board, all the directors hail from the same country as their owners. None of them is of African descent)
Now why does this lack of diversity matter? It matters because unrepresentative boards increase your chances of making bad decisions. Diverse boards – with a wide range of business, professional and social experience – make good decisions.
How would a club’s academy management, and pursuit and nurture of young talent, be affected by a board that better understood the communities it was operating in? How would their approach to recruiting, coaching or management staff change if the board wasn’t mono-cultural?
And how would a club with an influential BAME decision maker have managed a Luis Suarez or John Terry affair?
The 15 graduands of “on-board’s” first six month programme include the likes of Les Ferdinand (1st team coach at Spurs) and Jason Roberts (on the PFA management committee). They are no slouches on or off the field. They grew up in Britain, and understand British culture and British football from the inside out.
Are these not precisely the kind of people that football clubs and indeed league boardrooms should be fighting to recruit?
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