Managers of color don’t have enough opportunities? The legendary Vieira calls for change: We don’t have an open door

Patrik Vieira is now coaching Crystal Palace and is the only dark-skinned coach coaching in the Premier League. In a recent interview, he spoke about the fact that coaches of colour don’t have the door open enough.

The French football legend has long been a pioneer for equality. However, in a recent interview, he sparked a major controversy when he said that people of color don’t have enough opportunities available to them.

According to the Black Footballers Partnership, up to 43% of all Premier League players are dark-skinned, and 34% of players in all professional English leagues are dark-skinned.

But the situation is different for coaches. Patrick Vieira is the only dark-skinned coach coaching in football’s most watched competition when he leads Crystal Palace.

Vieira doesn’t like that. “If you look at the top five leagues and you look at how many black coaches you have in the first or second leagues, it’s not enough. They have a lack of opportunities. I believe we don’t have enough open doors to do what we can do,” he spoke to the BBC.

However, it is worth noting that of all the people who hold the highest coaching licence from UEFA, coaches with dark skin make up only 14%. “We are as good as everyone else. But we need to be given more opportunities to prove it,” Vieira is clear.

As for the occupation of positions in the executive, managerial and ownership structures of football clubs, only 1.6% are held by dark-skinned people.

Source: Black Footballers Partnership, ESPN, BBC