Football Black List Celebration Event set to highlight achievements of black community in the British game
Tuesday 28 March 2017 08:59, UK
Jason Roberts is working towards a role in football administration so he can bring about change and promote diversity from the top down, he tells Sky Sports.
The lack of black football coaches in the Premier League and EFL has been a well-publicised area of concern but across a range of sports, there are also extremely low numbers of black and minority ethnic people in boardrooms.
Roberts was speaking ahead of Tuesday night's Football Black List Celebration Event in London, which will highlight the wide-ranging achievements of members of the black community in the game.
A study by Sporting Equals into ethnic diversity in sports leadership in 2014 found 30 out of 45 governing bodies had no BME representation on their boards. That is something which must change, says Roberts.
"There are very low figures in management and coaching, as everyone is aware of. But I believe that in the governance of football, less than one per cent of people come from BME communities," he said.
"That's why I'm so passionate about governance of football. If your decision makers are more representative of what's on the pitch, the decisions made will be more representative too. Rather than trying to make change from the outside, if you're part of the decision-making process, then by default you're already changing the way football is working."
If your decision makers are more representative of what's on the pitch, the decisions made will be more representative too.
Former West Brom, Wigan and Blackburn forward Roberts, who has sat on a range of boards including FIFA's anti-racism task force after being inspired by a corporate governance course run by the Professional Footballers' Association, is currently undertaking the UEFA MIP executive master course for international players.
The programme aims to form a bridge between top former players and administrative roles in the game, and Nuno Gomes, Christian Karembeu and Eric Abidal are among Roberts' fellow classmates on the course.
"My end goal is to be upskilled enough and to educate myself to be in a decision-making leadership position in football," he said. "There are many organisations that have a part to play in the leadership of football - whether it be the FA, the Premier League, a football club or even government.
"It's another step in my journey from the football pitch to the boardroom - but it's not a well-worn track."
With so few BME role models in governance roles, Roberts says it is up to football's governing bodies to open up opportunities for people aspiring to make a change.
"It's down to the game to provide pathways to show people who show the initiative to want to be involved in things like this," he said.
"You need people to put themselves in a position to learn and to be as well qualified as they can be for when an opportunity arises, but the game has a huge responsibility to make its decision-making elements more representative of what we see participating, watching and being part of the sport.
"We've seen how the involvement of different nationalities, religions and ethnicities has changed from the early 70s to where we are today. Unfortunately we've not continued that progression into coaching, into management and into the boardroom. It's important the game provides pathways for people who have these qualifications.
"I've been an advocate of the Rooney Rule and ways we can provide opportunities for others who aren't currently involved. The very important point is the right person should get the job - but all we're asking is the 'right person search' is widened and is a fair representation of the diversity that plays the sport."
Find out about the Football Black List 2016, which celebrates the achievement of role models from the black community in the British game: http://footballblacklist.com
