FA to be more inclusive for future England posts

THE Football Association will make the application process for future England management roles more open, pledging to interview at least one applicant from a Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic background. The FA followed the example of the English Football League’s clubs in instigating the “Rooney Rule,” something originally implemented by the NFL in 2003. The FA has been criticised for its lack of inclusivity in the past. “The FA wants to become a more inclusive organisation where the workforce more represents the people who play football today,” FA chief executive Martin Glenn told the FA. The BBC sited research in November which showed that just 22 of 482 roles across England’s top four leagues were filled by coaches from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds. Glenn also said the FA would learn from the controversies surrounding Eniola Aluko, who accused then England women’s manager Mark Sampson of discrimination. “We want to make sure everyone who puts on the England shirt has a way to air concerns or grievances in a fair, speedy and prompt manner,” Glenn said. “The lessons we had to learn from the Eniola Aluko affair was that we did not have the right procedures in place for elite people to raise concerns. “But I think more subtly we did not have the right climate in place for people to feel they could raise their concerns easily. These measures address both of those.”