Patrick Vieira stated that there are not enough black coaches in Europe’s top leagues. Vieira, a former Arsenal star, explained that people of color need more opportunities in this field. The Crystal Palace manager is the only black manager in the Premier League at the moment.
“We have to give people of color opportunities,” Vieira recently proclaimed on the BBC’s Football News Show.
“We are as good as anyone else. And we need to have neither more nor less opportunities than anyone else. When you look at the top five leagues in the world and you look at the number of black managers you have in the first or second division, it’s not enough.”
“There is a lack of opportunity there. There is a lack of connection from black players to connect a little more with the people who make the decisions.
“But in general, I think the doors are not open for us to do what we can do and go into administration. When I talk about management, I mean the team, but also at a higher level”.
“We need to be given more opportunities to show that we are as good as everyone else.”
Patrick Vieira calls for more black coaches in soccer
A recent study has shown that 43% of players in the Premier League and 34% in the English Football League are black. Despite this, only 4% of the head coaches in these leagues are black. The EFL consists of levels two, three and four of the pyramid of professional football in England.
The Football Association previously introduced a diversity code in 2020 to help tackle racial inequality in sport. As part of the plan, all Premier League clubs have agreed to provide annual data on all their workers. However, Vieira sees more potential.
Not only are former black players not regularly given head coaching jobs, but these disproportionate numbers also include roles in scouting and junior coaching.
The aforementioned report states that only 8.9% of former players who moved into managerial/coaching roles are black. The time frame for this particular study was between 2004-2020.
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