An investigation into Black Minority Ethnic football coaches experiences of

Abstract

Present research focuses on the level of racism in football regarding players and supporters. However, the experiences of racism of Black Minority Ethnic (BME) coaches in football have been limited. There is a high percentage of Black football players represented in football, and in spite of this there are only two BME coaches that are represented in the English Football League. The purpose of this research was to capture the experiences of racism that BME coaches undergone and to gain the coaches views on the lack of BME coaches. This study includes an in-depth understanding of experiences of BME football coaches, in order to gain an insight on the likely complications that BME coaches have faced in getting coaching opportunities. This research also captured the opinions of BME coaches on positive discrimination within the football industry; which could enhance the opportunity levels of BME coaches. In-depth interviews were recorded and transcribed in order to thematically analyse the coaches‟ experiences and views. Using a qualitative approach, an inductive approach realist tales were generated in order to communicate with the reader; such as thoughts and feelings of the three BME coaches. Analysing the interviews led to a number of themes that emerged: i) Racism in Football, ii) Experiences of Racism, iii) The impact that Racism has on Potential Opportunities of BME coaches and iv) Positive Discrimination within the Football Industry.