Will new film really inspire BME coaches?

The football authorities made an admission this week which didn't really come as a surprise to most of us who follow the beautiful game.

All the main players were at Wembley stadium this week, with officials from the Premier League, Football League, Football Association, players and managers association as well as campaign group Kick It Out collectively admitting the lack of BME coaches in the game was embarrassing.

Around 20% of professional footballers come from the Black and ethnic communities yet of the 1300 or coaches who hold a UEFA B licence or higher, the number is much less, 4.8%.

And what's worse is the lack of visibility of black coaches given the opportunity to get the big jobs in professional football.

In the past, we've had the likes of Paul Ince, John Barnes and the late, great Keith Alexander taking up positions as managers in the professional ranks.

But on the eve of the football season, only two black managers, Chris Powell at Charlton Athletic and Chris Hughton at Birmingham City, will be calling the shots from the dugout.

In terms of Asian managers, you would have to drop to down to the top tier of non-league football, where you can find Nas Bashir currently plotting promotion from the Blue Square Bet Premier with Hayes and Yeading United.

But more visibility as well as transparency are key elements of a new film which the authorities hope will put BME coaches in the spotlight.

COACH is an 11-minute production which features interviews with a number of high profile coaches from the BME community including Powell and Hughton as well as England women's coach Hope Powell, England Under-19 coach Noel Blake as well as Arsenal academy coach Taff Islam and Butch Fazal, who has championed the cause at grassroots for a number of years.

COACH is the brainchild of Brendon Batson, better known as being part of the 'three degrees' at West Brom alongside Cyrille Regis and Laurie Cunningham.

Batson has been an advisor to the FA for the past few years and has been looking at a number of ways to increase participation from underrepresented communities in all aspects of the game.

Batson told OBV he hoped the film would have a positive impact in increasing diversity in the coaching set up around the country.

He said, "What we're trying to do is showcase people who are working in the industry at the top end but also in grassroots to show that if you're seriously thinking about coaching as a career, you can do it. You only have to see the film and see the individual's journeys.”

COACH has been designed to champion the few BME coaches in the game and the hope is that putting them in the public eye will act as a catalyst for a new generation of coaches to get themselves qualified and put themselves in the shop window.

"It's very important, especially for young people coming into coaching (to see role models). If they can't see anyone at the top end then they might think it's not for them. But if they can see people at different levels of the game, then they can aspire.

"As well as determination and commitment, it is also about being talented, but at least what you can do is to get qualified and see how far that talent will take you.”

Batson is a firm believer that the ones who will succeed in the long run are those who have the passion for the game and want to make a positive difference.

He is however keen to stress coaching and management is not only about the glamour of prowling the touchline in front of big crowds, but believes being armed with qualifications and experience won't stop you getting to where you want to go.

"You've got to love the game. It's almost like a vocation, you have to enjoy coaching, giving something to youngsters but then you've also got to have that knowledge so that you make it interesting and enjoyable for the youngsters you are coaching to keep them coming back. And then you need to see where your talent takes you.”

Batson is also concerned about the recruitment process of coaches and managers at the professional clubs.

“One of the challenges in football is that as and when jobs become available, they should publicised. I think for too long we haven’t had a good enough employment policy in football. We want them to be properly publicised and not just the case of a manager leaving one club and taking his whole coaching staff to another. The process should be open and fair.”

As well as launching COACH, Batson is also working towards setting up a bursary scheme, which will help and assist aspiring coaches from the BME community in their quest to get their UEFA B and UEFA A badges.

“We're still working on the in’s and out’s of the bursary scheme and acquiring funding, but once that’s in place, what I hope to see in years to come are coaches from the diverse communities who are more qualified than before. “We, as a football family, have come out and recognises is a problem and now we’re looking to tackle the problem. The challenge is now for the BME community to go out there and arm themselves with the qualifications and show they are the best people for the job.”

Getting qualified to be employable is a mantra which is repeated across all industries, not just in football. But the next stage will be to see what opportunities will arise and what will happen to the steady stream of BME coaches who do get all their badges and whether jobs in the game will be available.

And it will be interesting to see if the bursaries which are being proposed will be available to everyone who wants to get their coaching badges or favour those who have already had an involvement in the professional game.

Click here to visit the FA’s website to find out more about coaching

Zohaib Rashid

Main picture: Brendon Batson

Inside picture: Chris Powell and Chris Hughton