- Earlier this month, a racing row broke out over the Arsenal Women team photo
- The North London side have now issued a statement about their core values
- Listen to the latest episode of the Mail Sport podcast “It’s all coming!”
Arsenal have broken their silence following criticism from fans that the women’s first team does not include a single player of color, claiming that tackling the lack of diversity is a ‘priority’.
The 27-player team photo went viral online and quickly racked up more than four million views as fans criticized the “shocking” and “worrying” absence of players of color.
Arsenal was approached by Mailsport followed the argument about the photo, but they did not respond.
But they have now gone public to allay supporters’ concerns.
“We recognize that our current women’s first-team squad does not reflect the diversity that exists within the club and the communities we represent,” Arsenal said in a statement. The Athletics.
The photo of Arsenal’s women’s squad for the 2023-2024 season went viral due to its lack of diversity
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‘Increasing participation among young women and girls from different backgrounds is a key priority for us at academy level, with specific measures to improve pathways and accessibility.’
The statement added: ‘Across all our teams, including our men’s and women’s academies, we are proud of our players from diverse backgrounds who have contributed to our history, success and culture.
“It is a priority for the club to continue to strive for greater diversity and inclusivity and create a sense of belonging for everyone associated with the club.”
Unimpressed Arsenal fans criticized X – formerly Twitter – for the lack of diversity and players of color in their latest squad.
One user wrote: ‘No professional team, men’s or women’s, should be able to have an all-white team in 2023.’
Arsenal quickly came under heavy criticism, but they have now broken their silence and said that redressing the lack of diversity is a ‘priority’ for them at every level of the club’s teams.
Another wrote: ‘Nice photo and all, but god it’s so worrying that one of the biggest clubs in the world doesn’t have a single poc in the squad.’
A third said: “Are you telling me that stakeholders and arsenal executives see this and are okay with this? Do the head coaches think this is okay? The PLAYERS look at each other and think this is okay? ALL WHITE?? Please @ArsenalWFC @Arsenal there needs to be an emergency meeting and change.”
A fourth wrote: ‘We don’t have a single black female player. That’s scary.’
The issue of diversity in women’s football came even more to the fore last year when we discussed the Lionesses side that won Euro 2022.
There were only three players of mixed heritage involved with the Lionesses.
Ex-Arsenal striker Ian Wright called it a ‘systemic problem’, while former England international Eniola Aluko said at the time that changes need to be made in recruitment to tackle the lack of diversity.
The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) estimated that almost 10 percent of players will play in the Women’s Super League in 2021-22. This figure is now believed to have increased by five percent.
Last summer, former England international Eni Aluko called for changes to recruitment in women’s football to tackle the problem of a lack of diversity
“It’s about making sure we increase the pool of players that Sarina Wiegman (Lioness manager) can choose from and that the academies can choose from,” Aluko previously told ITV.
‘The talent is there. The FA need to sit down and look at building centers in certain areas.
“Just change our practices a little bit. The professionalism of the game may leave people out a bit.”
The Football Association quickly launched its Discover My Talent programme, aimed at improving the accessibility of football, which the governing body hopes will increase diversity.
