Alex Scott: The Future of Women’s Football, 鶹Լ One, 26 July 2022

Complaint

In this programme, the former football professional Alex Scott commented on the lack of diversity at elite level, arguing it failed to reflect the game or society.  A viewer complained this was inaccurate and misleading, as non-white players were not under-represented in the England’s women’s football squad, compared to the ethnic minority percentage in the country as a whole.   


Outcome

The presenter identified numerous factors she considered important for the women’s game to thrive, and highlighted an apparent lack of diversity in women’s football in England.  The ECU noted Ms Scott is far from alone in considering diversity to be an integral factor in the future of the sport.  The issue has been raised by, among others, former England players, the FA, Football Beyond Borders, and the Professional Footballers’ Association.  The PFA launched its See It, Achieve It campaign on 1 July 2022 to address what it regards as a lack of diversity.  There was, therefore, a clear editorial justification for looking at the issue of representation across the sport, not just at Women’s Super League and international level.  One of the contributors spoke about how she thought the lack of black players in the England team had a negative impact on the number of girls and younger women coming into the sport because of the importance of identifiable role models.  The lack of diversity at the national team level is also supported by evidence.  Data gathered by The Athletic shows the number of non-white players in the England squad is now at 13%, down from 28.6% in 2007.  In the context of the programme, Ms Scott’s comments therefore met the 鶹Լ’s requirements for due accuracy.  The ECU noted the complainant’s comparison between the percentage of “non white” players in the England squad and “the ethnic minority percentage in the country” but felt there was little to be learned from such a comparison. A more meaningful statistic would be a comparison with the number of non-white players in the men’s game.
Not Upheld