The Premier League’s No Room For Racism Action Plan has been launched with the aim to eradicate racial prejudice and create more opportunities for minority ethnic groups in football.
The action plan makes commitment in six areas – executive pathways, coaching pathways, player pathways, supporting communities, action against racism and embedding equality.
Action will be taken across all Premier League activity as part of the plan.
Targets have been set in an effort to increase diversity within leadership positions within the Premier League organisation.
By 2026, the Premier League aims to have 42 per cent of roles filled by women as well as having 18 per cent of staff from a Black, Asian or minority ethnic background.
A commitment to continue to take action against racism has also been made with the league to drive awareness, educate fans and improve the enforcement and effectiveness of sanctions.
“Football is a diverse sport, which brings together communities and cultures from all backgrounds,” Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters said.
“This diversity has made the game stronger on the pitch and it is vital we ensure this is reflected across all areas of the game.”
“The No Room For Racism Action Plan underpins the Premier League’s continued commitment to promoting equality and tackling discrimination. It builds on the wide-ranging work undertaken by clubs, aiming to ensure that everyone can achieve their potential, regardless of background.
“There is no place for racism in our sport and the Premier League will continue to take action against all forms of discrimination so that football is inclusive and welcoming for all.”
The Premier League also wants to increase the number of coaches from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, and will work with football partners to deliver programmes for underrepresented groups.
Further commitments include to ensure that all players have the opportunity to succeed regardless of ethnicity or background, to assist children and youth by promoting aspiration, education and pathways and to support clubs to achieve and report on equality, diversity and inclusion targets.
All 20 Premier League clubs unanimously supported the action plan at a shareholder meeting last week.
The league’s No Room For Racism campaign was launched in March 2019, to work against racial discrimination.
