British grime sensation Stormzy has launched a new programme which will partner with 10 brands from around the football industry in committing to improved representation in their businesses.
In a YouTube video launching the campaign, the rapper confirmed the likes of Sky Sports, Adidas and Manchester United are among the brands joining the multi-year initiative.
Stormzy was joined by former Arsenal and England striker Ian Wright, ex-Olympian and presenter Jeanette Kwakye and a plethora of other guests on a half-hour long special in which the disparities within careers in the football industry were discussed, with calls for recognition of talented young individuals from black or mixed heritage.
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It was highlighted that only 6.7% of senior roles in the sport are taken by people who identify as black or of mixed heritage, despite 43% of footballers being black or of mixed heritage.
Merky FC aims to change the industry by providing multi-year, paid professional placements as well as other opportunities to young black people who wish to enter the football industry.
The arrival of the programme comes after the FA’s report on the Football Leadership Diversity Code revealed that English clubs are failing to meet some of their targets in regards to encouraging clubs to recruit diverse talents in leadership positions, coaching teams and other team operation roles.
The FA, Premier League and EFL themselves exceeded seven of the eight targets last season, however, within clubs just 10.3% of the candidates hired for senior roles came from Black, Asian or mixed heritage backgrounds, which is below the 15% target.
Speaking to Sky Sports, the Brit Award winner said: “If you can see that representation on the pitch with all the players, then it should at least be backed up by people in positions of power, positions of influence outside of being an actual footballer.
"Hopefully with what we're doing we can drive a change.
Expanding on the lack of senior roles being taken up by people who are black or have mixed heritage, Stormzy added: “The statistics are shocking. I think it's down to visibility a lot. Even growing up we didn't see any black managers, black people on our screens in the media.
"So I think when Ian Wright comes along, Thierry Henry comes along, we know we can kick ball - we've always known we can kick ball - but in terms of the roles and the other positions in the industry we don't see our representation, and representation is important.
"When you can't see it, it's not always easy to believe it."
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