Alan Pardew says it is crucial that football clubs do more to bring in coaches from diverse backgrounds.
The Crystal Palace manager raised the point ahead of this afternoon’s clash with Queens Park Rangers, who, in Chris Ramsey, have the only black manager in the Premier League.
Pardew reckons the lack of coaches from black and diverse backgrounds at football clubs is a problem which needs addressing.
“It’s great for the Premier League to have a black manager and it’s something I want to promote here in terms of the coaches,” said Pardew.
“It is important to highlight that the ratio of African and Afro-Caribbean players to coaches is not right.
“It is something that needs to be spoken about and something we need to work on up and down the country.”
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He added: “We need to give them more chances. A lot of black players and Afro-Caribbean players don’t go on coaches courses because perhaps they feel it isn’t going to help them, but it will.”
Ramsey is only one of six black managers in the Football League alongside Chris Hughton, Chris Powell, Fabio Liverani, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbank and Keith Curle.
In an attempt to echo what he considers the FA’s drive to bring diversity into English coaching schemes, Pardew wants to do the same at Palace.
“I know the FA are really trying to encourage more diversity in the coaching world, and I back that as a Premier League manager because I think it is important,” he said.
“We are in an area where we have a lot of immigrants so our coaching system needs to reflect that and it’s something I’m going to make sure happens.”
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