Defoe plans to inspire more black coaches, managers

Jermain Defoe<br />PHOTO:Reuters

Jermain Defoe says the number of black managers and coaches in football is “shocking”, but hopes he can inspire more players to move into the industry.

The former England striker retired from playing last year and is now coaching Tottenham Hotspur’s under-18 team. A report released this week found black employees hold just 4.4 percent of management-related positions in English football.

“The numbers are there to see but that is one of the reasons why I want to make a change,” said Defoe, 40. Defoe, who scored more than 300 goals in a career that included spells at West Ham, Tottenham and Sunderland, is documenting his journey into management on Outside the Box, a new BBC Sounds podcast.

This week’s report from the Black Footballers Partnership (BFP) – an organisation of current and former players – said there has been “no real change” in the number of black former players hired in managerial or executive roles in professional football, and the career ladder for black players is “missing rungs”.

“I knew that figure [of 4.4% of managerial-related positions] to be honest and sometimes it’s really frustrating talking about it because I feel like I’ve been talking about the same things for years,” Defoe told the Sports Desk Podcast.

“When I’ve spoken to players like Les Ferdinand, Ian Wright, John Barnes, Sol Campbell, Dwight Yorke over the years about finishing playing and going into coaching and management and not getting the opportunity, it seems like you get little improvement but not much.

“If this can happen for me, then the players for the next generation might consider going into coaching, but the numbers are shocking to be totally honest.”

A previous BFP report showed that although 43 percent