Football clubs will be required to meet a recruitment diversity target of 15% in new executive jobs and 25% in coaching roles under a code devised by the Football Association.
The Football Leadership Diversity Code aims to tackle racial inequality in the English game.
It also hopes to increase the number of female coaches in women’s football.
Paul Elliott, head of the FA’s inclusion advisory board, says the new code will “hold football to account”.
At present, only five of the 92 Premier League and English Football League (EFL) managers or head coaches are BAME.
Nineteen of the 20 Premier League clubs have agreed to the voluntary code so far, with Southampton the only exception.
The Saints say they are “wholly supportive” of the code’s objectives but are waiting to see how it fits in with the Premier League’s own Advanced Equality Standard before revising their recruitment processes, which they say are the culmination of a “five-year equality and diversity journey”.
More than 40 clubs have signed up in total, including sides from the EFL, Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship.
