Background information■ Rooney Rule, United StatesThe Rooney Rule was introducedin 2003 after the owner of thePittsburgh Steelers, Dan Rooney,highlighted the small numberof black coaches and managersin the game, despite the largenumber of black players.It requires teams to interview aminimum number of minoritycandidates for head coachingand senior football operationpositions. By the start of the 2006season, the overall percentageof African American coaches hadjumped to 22%, up from 6% priorto the Rooney Rule.owing to cuts in government spending. InEngland, the activities of “Football Unites,Racism Divides” (FURD), a youth project andregistered charity that addresses issues ofracism and community cohesion, doing a lotof work with young black people and ethnicminorities, have been limited in recent timesowing to the economic situation in the UnitedKingdom and cuts in government spending,according to an expert in England. This hasresulted in some programmes being scaleddown and others being axed, particularlyaffecting volunteering programmes.Governments also have a huge influence onthe extent of overt racism in society. In bothItaly and Serbia, experts mentioned thatracism – or violence in sport more widely –had declined owing to tougher legislation.In Russia, too, there have been some positivedevelopments. The authorities have reducedthe overall number of racist murders inrecent months. “Racist manifestations bysupporters and ultras have recently beeneffectively deterred by authorities exercisingforce. In 2011, eight people got life sentencesfor hate-driven murders.” 11■ “Without SUSU, we [the BalkanAlpe Adria Project] would not havehad an entry point in the Balkans.” 12Alexander RakowitzExperts agree that governments must continueto focus on this issue, irrespective ofexternal (i.e. economic and political) factors.There is a need for both legislative action todiscourage overt racism and support for softerapproaches, such as those advocated byNGOs. Where there is very limited public fundingfor fighting racism, the support of privatesources such as SUSU is especially important– particularly in central and eastern Europe.Under-representation of minorities incoaching and other leadership positionsOur research suggests that there is considerableunder-representation of minoritiesin coaching and other leadership positionswithin football, at both professional andamateur levels across Europe. “Among the92 professional clubs in England, there arecurrently only three black managers. Whenyou also consider the approximately 550positions below the level of manager at theseclubs, there are currently only 20 who arefrom a black or ethnic minority background –a figure that represents 3.5% of the totalpositions available.” 13■ “Many sports have historicallyshied away from addressingthe problem, wrongly believingthat by talking about it,they will help stir up a problemthat doesn’t really exist.” 14 Piara PowarThe key reason for this under-representationis, according to experts, that clubs recruit onthe basis of “who you know”. 15 Clubs’ ownersalso seem to have fixed stereotypes aboutblack and ethnic minority candidates, whichleads to an element of uncertainty and meansthat they are not likely to be interviewed.In the absence of proactive initiatives aimed atchanging behaviour, there is a vicious circle.Clubs are not hiring black coaches andmanagers, which means that many potentialblack recruits ask why they should wastetheir time and money gaining qualificationsif they are unlikely to get a job at the end of it.Currently, only around 3% of UEFA-licensed(i.e. top-level) coaches in England are black.This figure should be closer to the 20% mark,matching the percentage of black players.11Interview with a Russian expert, 29 November 2012.12Interview with Serbian project officer Alexander Rakowitz, 6 October 2012.13Interview with English expert Dr Steven Bradbury, 6 November 2012.14Interview with English expert Piara Powar, 6 November 2012.15Ibid10KING BAUDOUIN FOUNDATIONDISCRIMINATION IN SPORT
One possible solution is to forcibly open upthese structures 16 by introducing a rule establishingmandatory quotas for minoritygroups at various levels within the footballpyramid in England. The Rooney Rule, whichwas introduced in the United States in 2003and requires American football teams tointerview a minimum number of minoritycandidates for open positions, is one solutionthat has been proposed in order to help openup those structures for ethnic minorities.However, there is also evidence of softerapproaches being adopted with a view toaddressing this disparity. Programmes suchas FURD’s coaching modules for ethnic minoritiesand women can help children to identifywith these people as role models and dispelmyths about girls’ lack of suitability for sport.Intensifying such efforts and covering moresports and regions can help to avoid resortingto stronger measures, such as quotas.Arsenal FC has become the first club in Englandto reach the advanced level of the EqualityStandard for Professional Football (awardedby Kick It Out!). 17 This demonstrates thatthe club is adopting a holistic approach to theissues of inclusion, diversity and equality, andthat it has policies and practices in placeacross the club to illustrate this. Another goodpractice in this area is that of the Black andAsian Coaches Association (see text box).Training for coaches and teachersCoaches and teachers are some of the mainauthority figures for young people. They playa huge role in establishing direct access tosport for all. It is in their presence, and undertheir influence, that ideas are formed andpatterns of behaviour are cemented, so theirapproach to access to physical activity is critical.Consequently, it is of great importancethat teachers and coaches are acutely awareof issues surrounding racism.In Russia, as noted by a Russian expert,“Xenophobia is deeply implanted in schooleducation and reinforced institutionally andon the base of everyday attitudes of schooladministrators and teachers.” 18Good Practice■ Black and Asian CoachesAssociation (BACA),United KingdomBACA has been set up to ensurethat there are increasing numbersof black and Asian coaches,particularly by encouraging themto gain coaching qualifications.The BACA supports and mentorscoaches through this process witha view to increasing the numberof black and Asian coaches in twoto three years’ time. BACA alsoruns a high-profile awarenessraisingcampaign in order to keepthis issue in the media spotlight.www.kickitout.org/baca22%Σ 713 pupilsChart 2.04: Reasons for unequal treatment by coach; breakdown by gender16Interview with English expert Dr. Steven Bradbury, 6 November 2012.17www.arsenal.com/news/community-news/diversity-award18Interview with Russian expert, 19 November 2012.DISCRIMINATION IN SPORTKING BAUDOUIN FOUNDATION11
Change language