Does english football warrant the rooney rule? assessing the thoughts of british asian coaches

Abstract

This article examines the Rooney Rule and offers the thoughts of British Asian football coaches working in English football in response to this policy implementation. The Rooney Rule, first piloted by English Football League (EFL) clubs during the 2016–17 season, makes it compulsory for all 72 EFL clubs to interview at least one black, Asian or minority ethnic (BAME) candidate (if an application has been received) for all managerial and first-team coaching roles. And, on 9 January 2018, the Football Association revealed that they had also adopted the Rooney Rule for all coaching jobs relating to the England national team. Because English football harbours so few BAME coaches, calls for the Rooney Rule to be introduced in English football had started to increase in volume, and led to its trial inception. But, is this policy welcomed or opposed among British Asian coaches? What fundamental barriers does this policy overlook? Is English football ready for the Rooney Rule? And, do British Asian coaches, a group believed to benefit from this positive action policy, deem that this rule is the answer to help facilitate positive change? With the aid of empirical research, this article critically examines and assesses the potential impact of the Rooney Rule and recommends additional inclusionary practices.

Abbreviations: BAME: Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic; CBP: The Coach Bursary Programme; EFL: English Football League; EPL: English Premier League; HLCE: Higher Level Coach Education; FA: Football Association; FBL: Football Bowl Subdivision; LMA: League Managers Association; NFL: National Football League; PFA: Professional Footballers' Association; UEFA: Union of European Football Associations.

Keywords:

• British Asian
• football
• Rooney Rule
• racism
• exclusion

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.