The former England international recently voiced her concerns in a meeting with the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) committee regarding the lack of cultural diversity and representation within football and sport as a whole. The Black Lives Matter movement has quickly accentuated the lack of minority representation at the top end of elite level sport.
During the meeting, Aluko alludes to the difference in BAME representation in the Premier League on the pitch and off it: ‘it’s a global league in terms of having players from all different backgrounds, races, religions, but we see that transition doesn’t reflect off the pitch into the boardroom and in ownership.’
In order to tackle this, Aluko has identified the recruitment strategy at the top, questioning whether they’re ‘fishing in a wide enough pool’ in order to identify the best talent. In a footballing context, Aluko calls for ‘diversity of thought’ when recruiting for certain roles, highlighting how some of the game’s best managers haven’t had the most fruitful of playing careers but can go on to be excellent coaches- the likes of Jurgen Klopp and Sir Alex Ferguson.
Aluko goes onto sight some mandatory rules put in place to challenge and change recruitment behaviour such as the home-grown rule in the Premier League. This rule increases investment into academies and forges a pathway for young footballers from local communities into elite level football. Aluko suggests something similar should be done with BAME representation in coaching and boardroom level roles, increasing overall quality.
