Southampton remain only Premier League club to not sign up to new FA diversity code, due to concerns over 'rushed' consultation

Southampton are set to face difficult questions over their decision to become the only Premier League club not to sign up to the Football Association’s new diversity code.

The code aims to tackle inequality by setting targets for increasing diversity in senior leadership and coaching positions, and 40 clubs have pledged to follow it – with Southampton the only top-flight side to refuse.

The club are “supportive” of the objectives of the code, which was launched on Tuesday, but are concerned the scheme was rushed through without proper consultation and want to be sure it will produce real progress.

England defender Tyrone Mings, however, was on the steering group for the Football Leadership Diversity Code and believes clubs risk alienating themselves from players and sponsors if they do not sign up.

Asked whether he would consider refusing to play for or join a club who did not sign up to the code, Mings replied: “It was something we were speaking about throughout the creation of the code. That may be an issue that those clubs may have to deal with in the future, those difficult conversations around, ‘why haven’t you signed up?’ ”

Under the code, clubs have pledged that 25 per cent of new coaching appointments will be black, Asian or of mixed heritage, with at least 10 per cent in senior positions. Shortlists for interview will have at least one male and one female black, Asian or of mixed heritage candidate and, in women’s professional clubs, 50 per cent of new hires will be female with 15 per cent black, Asian or of mixed heritage.

The FA had already set itself a target of achieving at least 11 per cent BAME representation on their leadership team by August 2021, with the current figure nine per cent. Its England coaching staff has a 22 per cent BAME representation, which exceeds the 2018 target of reaching at least 20 per cent by August next year.

On the clubs who have yet to sign up to the code Mings added: “I don’t know what the reasons are right now. I don’t know whether they [the clubs that haven’t signed up] couldn’t achieve them [the targets] or whether they didn’t want to sign up, I don’t know. You’d have to think it is not because they don’t want to increase the diversity in the senior management positions or coaching roles, you’d like to think that it is not anything sinister.

“So it is something that would come into a player’s mind. You would want to ask the question, ‘why?’ Now what their answer to that is maybe justified, I don’t know, but then I guess off the back of that you have commercial sponsors and fans who will also be asking the same questions. ‘Are you not committed to creating those pathways or creating those opportunities for black people and ethnic minorities?’ It will come into players’ minds if they see that one club has alienated itself from the code by choosing not to sign up. I guess everybody will live and die by their decisions, everybody will have answers for the choices that they make.”

It is understood that Southampton received an initial email from the FA less than two weeks ago followed by a phone call last week. The club achieved the Premier League’s advanced equality standard earlier this year and believe that they are already working in advance of the FA’s targets in many areas.

They were informed earlier this week that they were the only Premier League who had not signed up to the new code but, feeling that their concerns had not been addressed, saw no reason to change their stance. They will continue to have discussions with Paul Elliott, the chair of the FA’s Inclusion Advisory Board, and are ready to sign up once they are satisfied that the initiative will achieve lasting change.

“Southampton FC are wholly supportive of the Football Leadership Diversity code objectives. We are aware that the Premier League are revising their Equality Standard to bring the two closer together,” a club spokesperson said.

“At this time, the club consider the most appropriate course of action to wait and understand how a revised Premier League Equality Standard and the Football Leadership Diversity Code will work together and complement each other before revising our recruitment targets and already established processes. We have had productive and encouraging discussions with Paul Elliott on this topic and will continue to work closely with him on this.”

On the specific case of Southampton being the only club not to sign up, Mings, whose Aston Villa team face them on Sunday, said: “The fact that there are so many that have signed up represents huge, huge progress and that is probably more important than the one that hasn’t.

“I don’t know if Southampton have something in place for themselves or whether they plan on doing something at a later date, or they feel like the deadlines are unachievable.

“But if Southampton do sign up and the whole Premier League signs up, it represents a real collective sign of people wanting to make change. I guess time will tell on that one, but I feel really proud that the other 19 have anyway.”

The Premier League and Kick It Out welcomed the initiative, with the latter’s chair, Sanjay Bhandari, saying: “At Kick It Out, we will be asking fans and sponsors to encourage their clubs to sign up to the code. We will be seeking to provide the reporting transparency that tracks how football is progressing against these targets. We know that talent is evenly distributed, but opportunity is not. We need to correct that imbalance.”