Football Leadership Diversity Code report for 2021-22 is out: 'Huge work still to be done'

The Football Association (The FA) on Friday (28) unveiled its second annual report on the Football Leadership Diversity Code for the 2021-22 season and while it showed that progress has been made towards Code targets during the same season, a lot is yet to be done across the game.

The Code's second season witnessed progress in terms of football clubs collectively exceeding targets in hiring Black, Asian, and Mixed Heritage candidates as senior coaches in the men's game and coaching roles in women's football. There was a rise in the number of recruitment shortlists that had Black, Asian, and Mixed Heritage female candidates and also in the count of diverse male candidates, The FA Group said in a media release.

On the other hand, the 2021-22 season saw a fall in the number of senior management hires for both female and Black, Asian, and Mixed Heritage candidates. The recruitment of non-senior diverse coaches in the men’s game and female coaches in women’s football also fell below targets.

Some signatories saw more success than others, which may be because they have more diverse communities from which to recruit, but it is also likely that variations are due to some clubs having more mature equality, diversity and inclusion [EDI] and recruitment frameworks.

With the Premier League’s EDI standard updated in 2021, and the EFL’s 'Together' strategy launched this autumn, all clubs should soon have the tools to ensure they are recruiting the best talent from diverse shortlists.

The three governing bodies of English football which are signed up to the Code collectively, exceeded seven of the eight targets this season. The full report, which includes updates from all signatories, can be found here.

Key highlights from the reporting period of 1 August 2021 to 31 July 2022 include:

FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said, "I would like to thank everybody involved for supporting the Football Leadership Diversity Code, as part of a collective desire to create meaningful change. This year shows some signs of progress, with a shift in recruitment processes that will start to change the game and the three governing bodies exceeding seven out of eight targets.

"However, while we saw clubs exceeding diversity targets for senior coaches in the men’s game and coaches in the women’s game, there is still a huge amount of work to be done across the game. We understand that substantive change will take time, but a number of clubs have already made progress, and we expect to see more clubs follow that lead in years to come."

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said, "The Premier League fully supports the Football Leadership Diversity Code as we collectively work to achieve greater diversity across all areas of the game. Over the past two years, the Code has represented an important commitment from across football to tackle inequality and create long-term change. We are pleased to be making progress but there is still much more to be done to ensure there are opportunities at all levels of the workforce – this remains a priority for us."

Trevor Birch, chief Executive, EFL, said, "Since signing up to the Football Leadership Diversity Code, the EFL has made a number of strategic developments to its Equality, Diversity and Inclusion [EDI] operation, to help make the EFL and its Clubs more reflective and representative of the communities in which we serve.

"During that period, the EFL has seen a rise in both female and Black, Asian or Mixed Heritage employees recruited. Whilst this is a step in the right direction, the League is committed to further diversifying its staff base, ensuring everyone has the same opportunity to succeed across the EFL. We will also continue to work collaboratively with Clubs and partners to improve our game, together."

Kick It Out chair Sanjay Bhandari said, "The results on recruitment of Black, Asian and Mixed Heritage coaches in both the men's and women's game, and the achievement of targets by the football authorities, are encouraging.

"There is also plenty of room for improvement in other areas such as senior leadership and the recruitment of female coaches. Two years into the process, now is a good time for pause and reflection across the industry, to share learnings and best practice. Collectively, that will enable us to increase the pace of change."

The Code was introduced in October 2020 to ensure English football better represents our modern society, focusing on increasing equality of opportunity to encourage recruitment of diverse talent across senior leadership teams, team operations, and coaching setups.

It has now over 60 signatories, including all Premier League clubs, 32 EFL clubs, The FA, Premier League, EFL, Barclays Women’s Super League, and Barclays Women’s Championship, all of which are committed to tackling inequality and embedding greater diversity in the long term.

In 2021, The FA launched a careers platform to create greater transparency of roles available across English football and to help clubs and organisations reach a more diverse audience of candidates.

All signatories of the Code can advertise vacancies on the platform and since its launch, over 2,600 vacancies have been posted, with over 13,500 applications.

Of these, 40 per cent of applicants were from a Black, Asian or Mixed Heritage background, while 19 per cent were from females. All candidates said they would recommend the platform to their network.

The FA continues to encourage those who want a role within the game to register their profile on the platform to receive alerts and to search for roles relevant to them.