Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira has revealed his disappointment at the lack of black managers in the top football leagues across Europe.
Vieira claimed that the lack of diversity has had an adverse effect on many parts of the game of football, including among the media and the decision-makers. He also added that changing many people’s attitudes towards appointing black coaches has been slow and frustrating.
The 46-year-old is the only black manager in the Premier League and was recently named on the Football Black List, a list of the most influential black figures in the English football scene, alongside Bukayo Saka, Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford, Lianne Sanderson, and Vincent Kompany.
Patrick Vieira told me why he has the unwanted title as the only Black Premier League manager.
A report states 14% of qualified coaches are Black- but they make up only 4% of Premier league & EFL coaches.
-Only 3 out of 98 managers in Europe’s top 5 leagues are Black @itvnews RT pic.twitter.com/tUSg7YLGNE— Antoine Allen (@AntoineSpeaker) February 14, 2023
Vieira made this revelation in an interview with ITV News London after Palace’s 1-1 draw with Brighton and Hove Albion over the weekend.
“I believe we are in a better place but it does not move quick enough,” he said.
“We should be talking about creating opportunities for black ex-players and players who want to be a manager.
“We are late in our approach and mindset to treat everybody the same.”
The former France midfielder further explained that it was important that more opportunities be created for intending black managers and former players who are interested in taking up coaching jobs.
“I may be a little bit naive but I hope that the mind of people making those decisions will be a bit more open and they will be giving more opportunities to minorities to show what they are capable to doing,” he added.
“I think the decision has to be made and based on the quality of the person sitting in front of you, what can he bring to your football club? How can he take your club to a different level and what is his philosophy?
“That for me has to be the main question.”
“I hope me being a manager will inspire some of the young players to show there is the possibility to manage a team at a higher level in the Premier League, he explained.
“I hope they will have that ambition and the message to them is don’t think it is not possible. I believe there is a place for everyone regarding how good they can be to go into what they want to do.
“The future is bright for Crystal Palace and of course the challenge is the [playing] level is going higher each year because teams spending money and bring in top players so we will have to find a way to compete by identifying the special talent that we can bring to our football club,” the Palace boss concluded.
According to findings from the Szymanski Report, commissioned by the Black Footballers Partnership (BFP), It was found that about 43 per cent of Premier League players are Black, and just around 14 per cent of all known coaches with UEFA Pro Licence who have graduated under the FA are Black.
However, the number dropped drastically to just four per cent across the Premier League and English Football League, and of the 98 coaches in the top five football leagues in Europe, only three are black.
The Szymanski’s report also revealed that only 4.4 per cent of former players that take up managerial positions are Black, and just 1.6 per cent of executive, leadership and ownership positions are held by Black people.
Vieira was appointed manager of The Eagles manager on a three-year contract in July 2021, following spells at Manchester City’s youth team, Major League Soccer club New York City FC and Nice in France.
He led Crystal Palace to a 12th-place finish in the 2021–22 season, and they are also currently 12th in the Premier League this season after 22 matches.
