The FA’s newly-formed Inclusion Advisory Board (IAB) met for the first time this week, bringing together expertise from across football’s inclusion and anti-discrimination field.
The group, which includes former England full-back Graeme Le Saux, will work on a range of issues to encourage more involvement in the game from minority communities.
“This group is important for many reasons,” said chair, Heather Rabbatts.
“Each member contributes not only a deep knowledge of the game, but also experience across all the strands of equality to support The FA’s overarching message - football is a game for everyone.”
A key role of the IAB is to drive forward the Inclusion and Anti-Discrimination Action Plan, written and agreed by all of the football bodies - The FA, the Premier League, the Football League, the Professional Players Association, the League Managers Association, the Professional Game Match Officials and the Referees Association - which was signed off by The FA Board last year.
Now, as Rabbatts revealed, the work begins in earnest: “Our job is to translate the plan into action and change.
"Today was an important first step in the journey of this group, and for the members to familiarise themselves with each other, and how the different skills and talents around the table will complement each other."
She added: “We discussed a range of issues, from how best we increase participation in coaching, to foster confidence in reporting, as well as some of the new initiatives The FA specifically will be driving in this area throughout 2014 and beyond.
“The group is also actively looking to recruit a replacement for Michael Johnson, who stepped down from the group earlier this month.”
The Inclusion Advisory Board
- Heather Rabbatts (chair)
- Shelley Alexander
- Graeme Le Saux
- Joyce Cooke, OBE
- Rishi Jain
- Edward Lord, OBE, JP
- Rimla Akhtar
- Peter Clayton
- Thura Win, JP
To find out more about The FA’s ongoing equality work, click here.
