http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/29996225 Black and ethnic minority coaches: Think tank sets 20% target One in five professional coaches in English football should be from black and ethnic minority (BME) backgrounds by 2020, a new report has urged. The Sports People's Think Tank (SPTT) revealed on Monday that only 19 BME coaches are in the 'top' 552 positions in England's first four divisions. The SPTT has recommended bringing in something similar to the Rooney Rule that operates in American football. It would make it compulsory to see at least one BME candidate for interview. The SPTT met MPs and Sports Minister Helen Grant, who described its findings as "appalling and worrying", on Monday. The new body has also recommended introducing networking events aimed at eradicating what it describes as an "insider culture" where jobs are handed out on the basis of "who you know, not what you know". Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) chief executive Gordon Taylor was at the meeting in Westminster. "Nowhere can the global village be seen better than on a football field but there is a stage two - an average playing career is only eight years," said Taylor. Why are there so few black managers? "There is a clear, blatant and obvious piece of the jigsaw missing with regard to management and coaches. "People always say 'why you can't do things?' but we can, because any sane and right-minded person would know it is a natural follow-through. "You can have top-class black managers the same as you can have top-class black players. That's what this campaign is about. "It's not just an opinion now - it's an argument based on facts, reason and logic." Marcus Gayle, the former Wimbledon striker who is now manager of Conference South club Staines, says not enough has been done about the lack of BME managers in English football. "It seems to be the same old story of people getting recruited for who they know rather than what they know," the 44-year-old told BBC Radio 5 live. "There has to be something that is currently going on, some sort of blockage of improvement. The "Rooney Rule" was established in American football in 2003 and named after Dan Rooney, owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers "I think there definitely needs a bigger table to have this conversation on - about the recruitment policies, of candidates for certain positions." Gayle, who also had spells as a player with Bradford and Watford, added: "There are many former team-mates, good coaches among them as well, who have found it very, very difficult to even just get an interview or to just be involved in a conversation about getting coaching jobs. "It does get a bit demoralising over a period of time. "There doesn't seem to be any kind of let-up with this sort of case. A lot of players lose hope and lose a lot of faith within the system." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Why? Surely being successful for a job is a matter of qualifications? or being recommended by other staff or being friends with the chairman? not a case of ethnicity? 2. Surely this is racist to White people?
1) Judging by some of the managers being good doesnt seem to matter!!! 2) Because we are turning into a mini-USA where everybody has to be represented on everything equally
Right then. I want 20% white runners in the Olympic 100m final and 20% of Nhs midwives to be male. Lidicrous.
I hate all of this so-called positive discrimination...Discrimination is discrimination regardless how it is dressed up, and this rule would give an advantage to ethnic minority candidates which is discrimination..
its a bit like the company I work for who have set a target of senior management positions to be occupied by women by 2016, shocking, i'm sure the execs will be on a bonus for hitting said target anarl
Crap rule. They need to look at % of BME coming out of the coaching schools, then the number of them who hit decent grades/results for their certifications. If only 5% of coaches coming out of coaching schools are black/ethnic then you can't possibly expect 20% of coaches to be Black/Ethnic. Increase the number of qualified coaches coming through the system, and you'll increase the number being chosen for coaching positions. Ha, we should get a petition going
The daft thing about that is, if you look at the sex discrimination cases in this country today, more cases are brought against female managers than against male managers! Once they get a top job, women are more discriminatory than men.
Said it before and I'll say it again... If we had an "Association of White Lawyere" who only deal with White people they'd be labelled like the KKK. Why is the black lawyers association any different? There is no such thing as positive discrimination. Discrimination is discrimination in any sense of the word. As DAPARKER says - We want 20% of olympic runners to be white using the same ruling that these people are. If you are good enough, the colour of your skin doesn't come into it. If Paul Ince had worked his way to success at every level he'd be at Man Utd now. Fact is that he failed because he's not good enough - not because he's black!
I think it will happen anyhow, naturally. Now there's probably 10-fold the amount of black players in the league than there were in the 90's. Give it time and they'll naturally progress into coaching roles. Same with managers, providing they have the skills, leadership qualities and knowledge on the pitch then there's no reason to think they'd be denied a chance to manage. I'd be more concerned if it said 1 in 5 has to be of Middle-Eastern Arab origin, as there's barely any of them playing at a decent level in world football.
I want the use of sexism or racism or any other ism to get some one in trouble or to get out of trouble done away with, there's a lad at work whose Asian, islam, plays the racist card every time he gets himself into trouble, makes himself fireproof, we are all fed up with it, but where I work or scared of his ethnicity!
Maybe the ethnic minorities are just not interested in football. There are .say, european people living in japan - is there a call for 20% of sumo trainers to be non Japanese ?
This. No need for "positive" discrimination (or any other sort, thank you very much) in the game. We're way past getting our knickers moist because Viv Anderson got an England cap. The test of a manager is whether he's any bloody good, not whether he's a particular colour.
Definitely mate, I'm sure there'll be 10 times more asian office managers in the country than there were 20 years ago as well, it's just a case of letting the industries evolve naturally. If there's a country being accused of racial discrimination in the workplace I think we'd be one of the last to be pointed at. People can't be forced into positions, because when it doesn't work out you're left with a poor black guy being told to sue for racial discrimination by his 'advisers' when he probably just wants to knuckle down and get a new job. Yeah, bit close to the bone that one!
Dislike the Rooney rule as I don't like quotas, discrimination whether it be negative or positive, or the name Rooney. It's astounding how few ethnic minorities get into management, not just here but also on the continent and in South America. I'd love to know whether they're not getting their badges, not applying, not being interviewed or what. Bizarre.
Genuine question: Is Gus classed as white or Hispanic? If he is Hispanic does that mean that in actual fact our manager is from an ethnic minority?
