Stormzy and adidas have announced a partnership with 10 leading brands including Sky Sports, to come together on a multi-year initiative, Merky FC.
Mercy FC is a program committed to enhancing and protecting diverse representation in the football industry.
By tackling the lack of diversity off the field in football and granting access to a variety of multi-year, paid professional placements and opportunities across the business, Merky FC is said to be a new movement that will bring about change across the industry.
The careers program will commence in January 2023, with all 10 partners – which also include Manchester United, Fulham and LADBible – supporting with opportunities in operations and community to creative and marketing within their businesses, in a bid to change the game.
The Football Association’s second annual report on the Football Leadership Diversity Code revealed that English clubs have fallen short of six out of eight stated targets, prompting the commencement of the campaign.
Speaking to Sky Sports News about the lack of senior people in football that are black or mixed heritage, Stormzy said: “The statistics are shocking. I think it’s down to visibility a lot. Even growing up we didn’t see any black managers, black people on our screens in the media.
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“So I think when Ian Wright comes along, Thierry Henry comes along, we know we can kick ball – we’ve always known we can kick ball – but in terms of the roles and the other positions in the industry we don’t see our representation, and representation is important.
“When you can’t see it, it’s not always easy to believe it.”
Asked specifically about just 6.7 per cent of senior roles in the game being taken by people who are black or mixed heritage, despite 39 per cent of footballers being black or mixed heritage, the 29-year-old said: “That statistic is embarrassing. I don’t think it is anything short of embarrassing.
“If you can see that representation on the pitch with all the players, then it should at least be backed up by people in positions of power, positions of influence outside of being an actual footballer.
“Hopefully with what we’re doing we can drive a change.”
