Gender equality in English football is “in the dark ages” and is contributing to the sport’s failing finances, according to a new report.
A study published on International Women’s Day by the Fair Game group, which is made up from 34 clubs across the pyramid, found two-thirds of leading clubs in England and Wales have all-male boards.
The report found clubs to be “hugely naive” when it comes to catering for and marketing to female fans, and claimed they are missing out on vital revenue as a result.
The study found just 11.1 per cent of board members at Premier League clubs were women, dropping to just 4.2 per cent in the Championship. This compares to 39.1 per cent on the boards of FTSE 100 companies.
In November, the FA said clubs and governing bodies signed up to the Football Leadership Diversity Code had collectively failed to hit any of the recruitment targets set related to women in the scheme’s first 10 months.
Dr Stacey Pope, co-author of the report, said: “We looked at all aspects of how football operates at the moment and in a large number of cases clubs are living in the dark ages. Public attitudes towards sexism and misogyny are changing, and football needs to change too.
“Economically, the current situation in football is also hugely naive. Such an outdated stance makes reaching the Holy Grail of financial sustainability even more difficult to achieve and is even more reason for change.”
