England forward Shaunagh Brown calls for more sport to be played in state school

England forward Shaunagh Brown believes increasing the amount of sport played in state schools holds the key to addressing the lack of diversity evident in elite level women’s teams.

Brown was present at Wembley last month to see the Lionesses’ victory over Germany in the final of Euro 2022 and was struck by the absence of any players from ethnic minority backgrounds in the starting line-up.

Former England defender Anita Asante reacted to the “whiteness” of the side by stating that “visibility matters” and Brown acknowledges that it is also a characteristic shared by the Red Roses.

The 32-year-old believes the solution to widening the appeal of sports like rugby and football amongst girls and women is to expand its availability in state education.

“Looking at the Lionesses team that played in the final, they’re all white. I definitely noticed straight away,” Umbro ambassador Brown told the PA news agency.

“I walk into a room and I’m generally the only mixed race female and sometimes the only person of colour full stop, so I notice it.

“It’s no player’s fault and it’s not the staffing or support system’s fault because they can only pick from a certain pool of talent.

“The problem – and it is a problem – is where the talent is coming from. What systems are in place at state schools to encourage people like me to play rugby at any age, like they do with boys at private schools?

“Where are rugby clubs going to get their talent? You need to invest into secondary state schools and that would open up a world to so many more people.

“In terms of diversity in the sport, it’s got a very, very long way to go, but that starts at a lot lower than at the elite level. It’s certainly something I notice.

“There’s so much positive still