Stormzy, a rapper, launches Merky FC to fight racism in football.

Today, rapper Stormzy unveiled a brand-new program to combat racial inequity in football. In a new initiative, Stormzy has partnered with 10 brands from the football sector to encourage better representation in their companies.

After statistics revealed that only 6.7% of senior positions in football are held by people of black or mixed descent, Stormzy expects the collaborative venture with Adidas “may push change.”

According to Stormzy, Merky FC aspires to encourage and assist more individuals from a variety of backgrounds in making it big in the football world.

Young Black people will have access to a variety of multi-year, paid professional placements and opportunities across the business starting in January 2023 thanks to Merky FC.

The campaign’s debut also comes after the Football Association’s second annual report on the Code of Diversity in Football Leadership revealed that six of the eight promised targets had not been met by English clubs.

However, among clubs, just 10.3% of the people hired for key jobs came from Black, Asian, or mixed heritage backgrounds, which is below the 15% target. The FA, Premier League, and EFL themselves exceeded seven of the eight targets last season.

Discuss with Sky Sports News Regarding the dearth of black or mixed-race senior executives in football, Stormzy said: “The statistics are shocking. I think it’s a lot down to visibility. Even growing up, we haven’t seen no black manager, black person on our screens in the media.

“So I think when Ian Wright comes in, Thierry Henry comes in, we know we can kick the ball – we’ve always known we can kick the ball – but in terms of roles and other positions in the industry, we don’t see our representation, and representation is important.

“When you don’t see it, it’s not always easy to believe it.”

The only black manager in the Premier League, Vieira, believes that more needs to be done to support the advancement of black players in management.

“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.”