Dissertation: HAS BRITAIN’S COLONIAL HISTORY PREVENTED GREATER CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE BLACK DEMOGRAPHIC TO ENGLISH PRO FOOTBALL and DOES IT CONTINUE TO RESTRICT OPPORTUNITIES FOR BLACK COACHES today?
Name: Carl Adejobi
Role & company: TV Producer, Freelance / ex IMG Media
Introduction:
Colonial Britain was instrumental in exporting sports such as rugby and cricket around the globe. Though soccer came to global prominence later it was still organized by members of the same upper-class demographic that organized rugby and cricket. Given that sport was a vehicle for nations to exhibit their identity, it seems logical that the exclusive elitist attitude that was prevalent among organizers of those classical British sports would also be held by the early organisers of soccer. As well as the rule of play, sport was used by its administrators as a vehicle to transfer British values thus gaining a moral and educational purpose. British colonial ideology - with its inherent supposition of superiority – took root internationally and endures until this day.
Key findings:
The dissertation finds that Britain’s colonial history has directly influenced the underrepresentation of Black individuals in English football leadership. While Black players are now prominent on the pitch, systemic barriers persist in coaching and executive roles. These include entrenched racial stereotypes—such as perceptions of Black individuals as physically gifted but intellectually lacking—which are rooted in colonial ideology and continue to shape hiring decisions. The study reveals that despite anti-discrimination legislation and greater visibility of Black players, structural racism remains embedded in football institutions. Media portrayals reinforce these biases, and unconscious prejudice influences the narrative around Black coaches. Original interviews confirm that Black professionals in football face disproportionate scrutiny and limited access to career progression. The study concludes that until institutional mindsets shift and equitable pathways are created, Black participation in football leadership will remain stifled by colonial legacies and contemporary racial bias. Financial and media pressures alone are insufficient to drive lasting change.
Conclusion:
Football has progressed a long way since the days of Arthur Wharton and Walter Tull. The opportunities that are available for black people to make a career in football are myriad, on the field of play, as backroom staff, in the media and many satellite industries around football. Yet it does not feel like the progress has been as swift or far-reaching as it should have been at this stage. The colonial era outlook that framed black people as inferior still endures, perhaps not as widely amongst white people as it once did, but enough that black people are still not obtaining jobs that they are equipped to do.Being excluded from networks has a profound effect on confidence and also simply makes it more difficult to find out about opportunities, much less actually attain them. Processes need to be much more transparent if the amount of diversity is to be increased at football clubs. The football world should be wary of complacency and merely paying lip service to the aspirations of more diversity. The greater the ethnic diversity in football, the greater the cognitive diversity and that will provide the richness that the sport of football deserves.
This dissertation was part of the MA Leadership in Sport course, co-delivered between the Institute of Sports Humanities and the University of Buckingham, educating current and future leaders.