Wanted: Black Football Coaches

Yesterday the FA launched an audacious plan the change the face of English football managers.

At present there are no Black managers in the Premier league, and one in the Championship, Chris Hughton at Birmingham City and Chris Powell, who is managing Charlton Athletic in League One. Yesterday FA Supremo David Bernstein said ‘that has got to change’.

And he is right. Football’s governance is not keeping up with the game that sees at least 20% Black players, and yet no Black owners, board directors, and no managers in top flight football.

The terraces too are changing as football as managed to shed it self of the ugly hooligan racism of the past.

Yesterday the great and the good spoke, including football icon Garth Crooks, Sir Trevor Booking, and Brendon Batson, but one of the most moving and inspirational stories came from Tafazzul ‘Taff’ Islam.

Taff was on Arsenal’s books as an apprentice but due to a series of injuries he was forced to quit the game. At this point Taff could have been one of the many who spend their lives lamenting ‘if only’.

Not this guy. He duly went onto to complete a University degree before embarking on a football coaching course. Eight years later he is on the coaching staff at one the world's premier clubs, Arsenal.

It is young men like Taff who the footballing bodies want to attract to coaching. Their skills, say chief organiser of the scheme Brendon Batson, can be used at all level of football, from kids coach to, one day soon, the Premier league. Batson has pledge funding bursaries for those who are interested.

To find out more information, click here.

Simon Woolley

Main picture: England U-19 coach Noel Blake

Inside picture: Arsenal academy coach Taff Islam