Former England and Tottenham striker, Jermain Defoe has expressed his disappointment with the lack of black managers and coaches in football and hopes to inspire more players to consider a career in coaching.
The former England striker, who now coaches Tottenham Hotspur’s under-18 team, was commenting on a report by the Black Footballers Partnership (BFP) that found only 4.4% of management-related positions in English football are held by black employees. Defoe acknowledges that the figures are frustrating and hopes that his own journey into management can encourage the next generation of players to consider coaching.
He believes that the lack of opportunity for black players to move into coaching and management roles is a problem that needs to be addressed.
“Obviously, i am Disappointed With the fact that we don’t have a lot of black coaches in Europe, but I am ready to begin from the scratch, get my badge and let’s see what happens” Defoe said
Defoe also notes that many former black players who have earned coaching badges have not been given the opportunity to coach, which has led to some feeling disheartened and turning to other careers.
He sees his role as a coach at the academy level as an opportunity to start from the bottom and work his way up, but acknowledges that progress needs to be made at the higher levels of the sport.
Defoe’s ultimate goal is to manage in the Premier League, where Patrick Vieira is currently the only black manager.
“Yeah, I would love to manage a team in the Premier League someday. You look at Patrick (Viera) as the only black manager in the League, we need more of that” Defoe said
He believes that having more diversity in leadership positions will benefit the sport and lead to better decision-making. Defoe’s comments come as anti-discrimination group Kick It Out calls for government legislation to address the lack of diversity in football leadership positions.
The group’s chief executive, Tony Burnett, sees the Football Leadership Diversity Code as inadequate and believes that clubs should be required to report on progress toward greater diversity.