Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to increase the participation of BAME young people in grassroots football.

The government is clear that racism has no place in football, sport, or society at large. Our strategy ‘Sporting Future’ is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in sport and physical activity, including football. We are in regular dialogue with the football authorities across a range of matters, including tackling racism and increasing racial diversity in grassroots football.

In October 2021 the FA launched their new equality, diversity and inclusion strategy (2021-24) ‘A Game for All’. We also welcomed the launch of the County FA’s Code of Governance in May 2020 and the FA’s ‘Football Leadership Diversity Code’ in October 2020, which is a step in the right direction to ensure English football better represents our modern and diverse society, on and off the pitch. The FA has committed to following this with a version adapted, in 2021, for the National League System and grassroots clubs.

Opportunities for participation are crucial too. The government invests £18m a year into football facilities, through the Football Foundation, to improve access to quality facilities across the country with an additional £75m announced in 2021 as well. Inclusivity forms a part of the assessment criteria for any application for funding from the Foundation, with it being a core value of the organisation.

The government will continue to liaise closely with the football authorities on their efforts to improve diversity in the sport and will be addressing it in the upcoming revised Sport Strategy.