March 7 – The English Football Association has agreed a set of reform proposals which chairman Greg Clarke believes represent a “once-in-a-lifetime” chance to change how the national game is run.From next season, the FA’s board will be reduced from 12 members to 10, including an independent chairman and two independent non-executives. Crucially, three members of the board will be female as of 2018/19.
Back in December, five ex-FA bosses described the organisation as being held back by “elderly white men” though they themselves could arguably have fallen into that category.
And last month, the FA’s image as an anachronistic body of blazer-wearing conservative officials resistant to reform came under renewed scrutiny when a group of parliamentarians debated a motion of ‘no confidence’ in the governing body.
Only one woman sits on the current 12-member FA board and the FA’s new proposals, which also include term limits, will have to be approved by its full Council on April 3. If they receive majority approval they will be taken forward to a vote of the shareholders at the FA’s Annual General Meeting on May 18.
Clarke reiterated that he will quit if the plans for reform do not win government support. “This is a transformational leap forward and if the government don’t accept this, I’m not sure what else we can do,” he told the BBC.
The FA is effectively run by its own parliament, the FA Council, which has 122 members. Just eight are women and only four are from ethnic minorities. More than 90 of the 122 members are aged over 60.
The proposals were immediately denounced as unfair and superficial by Lord Ouseley, chairman of the anti-racism body Kick It Out who said they failed to address black and minority ethnic representation.
“These reforms will no doubt satisfy those who are making demands on the FA, such as the department for culture, media and sport select committee, Sport England and UK Sport, but these long-overdue reforms won’t satisfy minority groups,” Lord Ouseley was quoted as saying by The Guardian newspaper. “By prioritising women on boards, all other protected groups are being left behind. It is quite right for women to be progressing but these reforms need to be across the board and not just directed at women.
“The same people still run the main authorities and professional clubs. Until we see real change and inclusion in these positions of power, changes are likely to just be superficial. After decades of campaigning for change, that is a crying shame.”
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