THE Football Association has defended its diversity targets after Suella Braverman accused it of being "inherently racist," saying it is proud of its plan to have at least 30 per cent of England coaches from ethnic minority backgrounds by 2028.
Braverman, the former Tory home secretary who defected to Reform UK in January and now serves as the party's equalities spokeswoman, wrote to FA chief executive Mark Bullingham on Monday (23) demanding the governing body scrap what she called a "fundamentally flawed" strategy.
She also posted on X, saying: "This is utter woke nonsense. The game's gone. Let's kick racism out of football, including anti-white racism."
The FA's target, set out in its equality, diversity and inclusion strategy in 2024, requires a minimum of 25 per cent of coaches across all England men's and women's age group teams to be non-white, rising to 30 per cent by 2028.
The policy was introduced in response to longstanding criticism that football has far fewer people from ethnic minority backgrounds in coaching and leadership roles than in the playing ranks.
In a response reported by The Times on Wednesday (25), an FA spokesman said: "We are proud that our strategy is supporting the growth of football among men, women, boys and girls from all communities. Football has the unique ability to break down barriers and bring communities together."
The FA insisted its approach remained merit-based. "While we will always take a meritocratic approach by appointing the best people for roles, we also recognise the importance of having a broader range of participants across the sport," the spokesman added.
Braverman maintained in her letter that "the best coaches should get the job, not because of their skin colour, but because they are the best person for the job," and offered to help the FA draw up what she described as a fairer policy.
