Les Ferdinand criticises FA as report shows 'glass ceiling' for black coaches

QPR director of football feels there is still a glass ceiling for black coaches and has also questioned Football Association's approach to meaningful change to the game.

Les Ferdinand told The Times after the publication of the Szymanski Report, commissioned by the Black Footballers Partnership (BFP), which he is also associated with.

According to the report, 43 per cent of Premier League players are black, but 14 per cent UEFA Pro Licence holders have graduated under the FA.

The Szymanski's report also reveals "4.4 per cent of managerial positions usually taken by former players are occupied by Black employees". It adds only 1.6 per cent of executive and ownership positions are held by black people.

"We need a voice for ourselves because we're just not being heard," Ferdinand was quoted as saying after the publication of the report.

"If I'm not as successful at QPR as I want to be, for whatever circumstances, I'll never get another opportunity to do this job. Yet I see directors of football that have left one club, go to another, left one club, go to another and continue their careers.

"The FA keeps putting initiatives in but it's all talking. I've been having this conversation about a glass ceiling for black coaches with the FA for 30 years and nothing's changed."

Ferdinand is one of the founding members of the BFP, alongside QPR technical director Chris Ramsey.

Ramsey says black coaches being overlooked has "gone on too long and points to a systemic problem in the game".

Ferdinand added: "We are losing generations and generations of talented young black footballers who come out of the game who have got something to offer. It's almost like we're allowed to love the game as players but that's about it. We can be entertainers but we're not allowed to be leaders.

"I see the likes of (Frank) Lampard, (Steven) Gerrard and (Wayne) Rooney coming to the end of their careers, all great players in their time, Tony Adams and Steve Bruce, and everyone talks about what great managers they'll make because of the stellar playing careers they've had.

"I see Ian Wright, Rio Ferdinand and Paul Ince coming to the end of their careers and they're never mentioned in the media in the same light. They've had stellar careers. It's partly the owners but the owners listen to what the media say. They should be above that, but are they?"