The Football Association will publish broad requirements for the role of Gareth Southgate’s successor and plans to interview diverse coaches who meet the job criteria, Sky News can reveal.
This is the first time the FA is searching for a new men’s national team manager since it launched a Football Leadership Diversity Code in 2020 “to drive diversity and inclusion” across the game with the aim of increasing equality of opportunities.
The FA set men’s clubs a target of ensuring 10% of new senior coaching hires would be black, Asian, or of mixed heritage.
A specific England job advert is not due to be published, but candidates will be asked to submit their interest – putting coaches on the FA’s radar who might not have been under consideration.
An FA source told Sky News the “succession planning process has already identified a number of candidates” while committing to an “open recruitment processes.”
Southgate’s departure on Tuesday after eight years was a move the FA was preparing for, despite hoping to keep the manager who took England to two finals.
But he left at his own choosing after missing out on the Euros trophy again with Sunday’s defeat to Spain in Berlin.
The FA is understood to be factoring in the need for the next manager to be able to handle the intense public interest and scrutiny while having great experience in handling such a high-profile job.
Part of having a more transparent and open process is interested coaches being provided with contact details for the recruiter.
There is a sense managing England requires a unique and less widely available set of skills with fewer candidates who can do that.
The FA’s diversity code states: “Hiring will be based on merit, to find the best person for the job from diverse talent pipelines and the aim is to move away from recruitment practices focused on personal networks, which is a longstanding challenge across football and has limited the diversity in leadership across the game.”
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Gareth Southgate’s reign as manager
Southgate did have Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, who is black, on his coaching staff.
The former Netherlands and Chelsea striker has managed in the lower leagues in England at Burton, QPR, and League One side Northampton Town.
He said last year discussing football widely: “I have applied for a lot of jobs, and the majority I didn’t get an interview.
“Why? I don’t know. I can only tell you I didn’t get an interview, and I only want to get a job because they think that I’m the right person for the job.
“And I do know that a lot of black ex-players don’t want to go and take their coaching badges because they think that we don’t get a fair chance.”
There were only two black managers in the Premier League last season – Nuno Espirito Santo at Nottingham Forest and Vincent Kompany, who has since left Burnley for Bayern Munich.