Most Premier League boardrooms still a no-go area for ethnic minorities
There is not one black director in the Premier League and fifteen out of the twenty clubs have all-white board rooms*, ITV News research has found.
The study looked at the board of every Premier League team and found that only five clubs feature any Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) representation at the highest level - but none of the directors are black.
ITV News Sports Editor Steve Scott reports:
Of the top four clubs in the Premier League last season, only Manchester City have non-white board members - Khaldoon Al Mubarak and Mohamed Al Mazrouei.
Manchester United, Queens Park Rangers and Leicester City are the other three Premier League clubs that have BAME representation and all are foreign-owned.
Hull City are the only British-owned top-flight club to have non-white members on the board, with owner Assem Allam and his son Ehab the two directors.
QPR, along with Hull, is the only Premier League club to have an entire board made up of non-white members - Tony Fernandes, Amit Bhatia, Kamarudin Bin Meranun and Ruben Amir Ghanalingan.
The news comes as a 16ft statue of the world's first black professional footballer, goalkeeper Arthur Wharton, was unveiled at the national football centre in Burton today in a hope to "inspire a new generation of coaches and players from all backgrounds," according to St. George's Park chairman David Sheepshanks.
Of the Premier League starting XIs during the last set of fixtures before the international break, 32.7% of the players were of black, Asian or ethnic minority - compared to the amount of non-white board members which was just 10.4%.
Just five out of twenty Premier League teams have a black club captain; Vincent Kompany at Man City, Ashley Williams at Swansea, Younes Kaboul at Spurs, Curtis Davies at Hull and Wes Morgan at Leicester.
There are currently no black managers in the Premier League and just two across all of the football league - Chris Powell at Championship side Huddersfield and Keith Curle at Carlisle in League Two.
The Football League has recently agreed to review the under-representation of BAME managers and coaches at league clubs.
Any findings from the review and potential measures to tackle the problem will be presented at the Football League's end of year meeting and will also be published in order to promote transparency.
It’s been suggested that the Rooney Rule, used in American football, which forces clubs to ensure that at least one person from a BAME background was included on each interview list, could be a solution to increasing the number of non-white coaches and managers in football.
On the potential implementation of the rule Football League chairman Greg Clarke said in a statement last week: “The Rooney Rule has been suggested by some as a potential way forward, however until we have consulted fully with all parties we will remain open minded about any potential solutions.
“The real challenge is to increase BAME representation at all levels of the coaching pipeline and to ensure that there is fair access to employment opportunities for everyone.”
*Excludes honorary board members.
ARSENAL
Board Members: 6
Ethnic Minorities: 0
Source: Press Office
ASTON VILLA
Board Members: 4
Ethnic Minorities: 0
Source: avfc.co.uk
BURNLEY
Board Members: 7
Ethnic Minority: 0
Source: Press Office
CHELSEA
Board Members: 7
Ethnic Minority: 0
Source: Press Office
CRYSTAL PALACE
Board Members: 5
Ethnic Minority: 0
Source: cpfc.co.uk
EVERTON
Board Members: 5
Ethnic Minority: 0
Source: Press Office
HULL
Board Members: 2
Ethnic Minority: 2 (Egyptian)
Source: hullfc.com
LEICESTER
Board Members: 6
Ethnic Minority: 4 (Thai/Chinese)
Source: Press Office
LIVERPOOL
Board Members: 6
Ethnic Minorities: 0
Source: liverpoolfc.com
MAN UTD
Board Members: 11
Ethnic Minorities: 1
Source: Press Office
MAN CITY
Board Members: 6
Ethnic Minorities: 2
Source: Listed on annual reports
NEWCASTLE
Board Members: 3
Ethnic Minorities: 0
Source: Press Office
QPR
Board Members: 4
Ethnic Minorities: 4
Source: Press Office
SOUTHAMPTON
Board Members: 5
Ethnic Minorities: 0
Source: saintsfc.co.uk
STOKE
Board Members: 4
Ethnic Minorities: 0
Source: Press Office
SUNDERLAND
Board Members: 5
Ethnic Minorities: 0
Press Office
SWANSEA
Board Members: 9
Ethnic Minorities: 0
Source: Press Office
TOTTENHAM
Board Members: 7
Ethnic Minorities: 0
Source: Press Office
WEST HAM
Board Members: 6
Ethnic Minorities: 0
Source: Latest annual report
WEST BROM
Board Members: 4
Ethnic Minorities: 0
Source: Press office