by Our Sports Desk

Black players’ only hope of getting equal opportunities to become coaches at professional clubs is to go on strike, the chairman of anti-racism group Kick It Out said yesterday.

Lord Herman Ouseley claims football’s hierarchy “does not have the stomach” to bring in regulations such as the “Rooney rule” to give black and ethnic minority coaches a fair chance. He believes that meaningful change will only be made if black players threaten to go on strike.

There are only two black managers in the 92 league clubs, Chris Powell at Huddersfield and Carlisle’s Keith Curle, yet the Professional Footballers’ Association say 25 per cent of players are black. PFA numbers suggest 18 per cent of those who attend coaching courses are black — yet only around 3 per cent of managers, assistant managers, first-team coaches, technical directors, under-21 coaches, u18 coaches, academy managers, goalkeeping coaches and physios are.

The PFA is pushing for the Rooney rule — introduced in American football where clubs must include at least one black and ethnic minority candidate on the shortlist for all coaching jobs — to be brought in but the Football League and Premier League have shown no inclination to do so.

Ouseley said: “Quite frankly I don’t think the hierarchy has the stomach to establish proper procedures and unless people like FA chairman Greg Dyke and Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore do something about it the situation will continue.

“It (the Rooney rule) has not got a hope in hell, people have not got the appetite to make it happen.

“The only thing that will work is black players creating their own revolution until the authorities sort it out.

“I’m not saying it’s going to happen, I don’t think the PFA have the bottle to do that, to withdraw their labour but the only real lever of power they have is while they are players.

“Otherwise after they have finished they may get a job in a TV studio but that’s about it.

“Black coaches should be considered properly with interviews and considered on merit. The Leagues and the FA should be regulating and setting the overall standard.”

Simone Pound, head of equality and diversity at the PFA, said the union had organised its first black coaches forum in 2003 and that increasing the proportion of black and ethnic minority coaches was one its most important aims.

She said: “We are working to ensure there is constant attention on this — it cannot be brushed under the carpet. We have been working for more than 10 years on this and we need solutions.”

Labour’s shadow sports minister Clive Efford says football has yet to address the problem of a lack of black coaches.