The EFL has announced the 12 members of its newly formed Together Advisory Panel, which will guide the work of the League on issues relating to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.
The panel is drawn from across football as the EFL continues its mission, to ensure that football – be it the workplace, stadiums, communities and online – is a safe, inclusive and enjoyable environment for everyone.
Chaired by the EFL’s Independent Non-Executive Director and Chief Executive of Mumsnet, Justine Roberts, the panel features six football equality stakeholders as well as representation from the Professional Footballers Association and Football Supporters Association.
The 12 panel members are:
Justine Roberts (Chair) - EFL, Independent Non-Executive Director
Sadiq Patel – EFL, Senior Football Systems and Analysis Manager
Hasnain Mohammed – EFL, Club Relationship Officer
Hollie Varney – Kick It Out, Chief Operating Officer
Owain Davies – Level Playing Field, Chief Executive Officer
Lou Englefield – Football v Homophobia, Chief Executive Officer
Terry Angus – Professional Footballers Association, EDI Executive
Lungi Macebo – Women in Football, Board Member
Nilesh Chauhan – Football Supporters Association, Fans for Diversity Manager
Dr Sara Ward – Carnegie School of Sport, Director of Executive Education
Catherine Forshaw – Brabners Associate, National Football Museum, Trustee
Geoff Wilson – Global sports strategist and former Irish Football Association
David McArdle, Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion for the EFL, said: “The EFL aims for football across the League to be more reflective and representative of the communities in which we serve and the appointment of the Together Advisory Panel is a vital next step in this process, with each member bringing a wealth of experience and knowledge in the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion space.
“Football has come a long way in recent years, but we recognise there is still a great deal of work to be done. The Together Panel will play a key role in that work going forward, advising the EFL and its Clubs on all areas of work on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.”
Justine Roberts, Chair of the Together Panel, added: “This is an important step on a journey that the EFL is on, and I’m excited in my role as Chair to be a part of a panel that will help to ensure effective and sustainable changes are made.
“It is really evident that so much great work is already happening, with many EFL Clubs delivering a wide variety of initiatives to make our great game more diverse and inclusive. The establishment of the Together Panel will bring fresh new voices to the conversation as we continue to make real progress in this area in the next few years.”
The formation of the Together Advisory Panel is the latest milestone in the EFL’s work on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.
Since the beginning of the 2022/23 tangible progress has been delivered with some of the highlights including:
* 7,000 collective hours of EDI Education delivered to over 1,000 individuals – smashing the five-year target for the strategy in the first year of delivery
* 363 individuals given Mental Health Awareness Training
* 2,000 diverse books donated by the EFL and its Clubs to primary schools across the country
* Introduction of I-Recruit – an anonymised recruitment tool to ensure more diverse candidates are interviewed for roles within EFL Clubs
* 100% of EFL Championship Clubs engaging with Level Playing Field to make football more accessible for disabled supporters.
* 65 Diverse Fan Groups established across EFL Clubs
* 120 hours of diverse stakeholder consultation in the first year of Together Strategy
The establishment of the Together Advisory Panel follows the launch of the EFL’s ‘Together Against Racism’ campaign calling on football supporters up and down the country to take a stand against all forms of racism and discrimination and report any incidences they see or hear online.
