\n<\/p>\n
The head of anti-discrimination body Kick It Out says that initial proposals by English football’s independent regulator “put equality, diversity and inclusion on the subs bench”.<\/b><\/p>\n
The watchdog for the top five tiers of the men’s game is devising a new code of governance, with clubs having to show what they are doing to tackle under-representation of minorities in order to be granted a licence.<\/p>\n
In correspondence sent to the independent football regulator (IFR) as part of a consultation process – and seen by BBC Sport – Kick It Out claims that the proposed measures are “inadequate”.<\/p>\n
“[It] doesn’t go far enough in addressing the stubborn challenges that the game currently sees,” said Kick It Out chief executive Samuel Okafor.<\/p>\n
“We’ve been really clear with the regulator in terms of the gap that currently exists. And the gap is significant.<\/p>\n
“We’re really concerned that what we’ve seen in the first proposal, in essence, puts EDI [equality, diversity and inclusion] on the subs bench, [and] maintains the status quo.<\/p>\n
“It’s really important that the regulator uses the powers that it has to drive the change that we all want to see.”<\/p>\n
Among a series of recommendations, Kick It Out says it wants annual publication of clubs’ workforce diversity data, and every club to have board-level accountability for EDI.<\/p>\n