We are 15 year old players currently aspiring to play in academies next season, and are currently playing in semi-professional organised football. We love football and are passionate about increasing diversity in coaching in our local premier league clubs.

60% of ethnic minority academy players that we talked to said to have felt ‘different’ to the coaches managing them. They also said to have not been able to ‘relate’ on a personal level to the coaches. We asked them why this is and 69% claimed that they didn’t feel represented racially.

On a national and club level, we feel like there is a lack of BAME managers that seems to be going under the radar. Why was the first black manager only able to manage an English team in 1962? The lack of diversity in football coaching is putting pressure on BAME players that can’t relate to their coaches and feel alienated off the pitch. We want to reform the amount of black and ethnic minority coaches in the FA system.