We've signed up to the Football Leadership Diversity Code because, ultimately, it is the right thing to do.
CPFC pride ourselves on being inclusive and we want to be part of the change process.
We are passionate about equality, diversity and inclusion and feel that by signing up to this code we are showing our ongoing commitment to change, setting targets and will have a structured action plan in place which will allow us to achieve those targets.
As part of the Premier League, we have intermediate level status with the Premier League Equality Standard, which includes a full equality action plan outlining our objectives, actions and tasks in relation to achieving more diversity and inclusion throughout the club.
A quarter of the senior leadership team within the club is female. These people are in senior positions and have input at senior level on how we manage our business day-to-day.
Our equality action plan aims to increase diversity even further throughout the club including the leadership team and coaching teams, in order to have even more identifiable role models from diverse backgrounds.
With regards to the coaching side of the club, CPFC is proud to state that 17 per cent of our Academy coaching team are from a BAME background. As part of our ongoing equality action plan, we strive to increase these figures even further.
We've signed up to the FA placement programme, which creates a coaching placement for a coach who will be from a BAME background or is female (or both).
Further to that, all of our employees (including players) are put through equality and unconscious bias training as part of their yearly mandatory training.
CPFC have also sponsored an unconscious bias training module with Croydon Council. This module is posted on the Council’s website and is available for anyone who lives in the Croydon area to have access to, showing our ongoing commitment to EDI by helping with educating the local community and fanbase.
Our Palace for Life Foundation works closely with the local community and champion a number of initiatives throughout the year which are directly related to EDI.
For example, as part of Black History Month, the foundation created a video celebrating some of the successful Black people who are from the south London area.
The main purpose of the code is to create greater diversity within football clubs. With greater diversity comes different ideas, experiences and thought processes, which can only enhance the business model.
As the general football fanbase is one that is very diverse, football clubs should want to create more diversity within their employee base in order to relate to their fanbase and to move the game forward.
Find more information on how to sign up to the Football Leadership Diversity Code, and further detail on its principles, pledges and definitions.
