Former Ghana midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng has expressed worry over lack of coaching opportunities for African trainers in Europe.
Over the years, coaches from the African continent have struggled to land jobs in the European countries.
And the former AC Milan and Barcelona star has blamed racist structures for lack of opportunities for black coaches.
“Africans are always good enough to play football. Decades after the end of colonialism, on the other hand, they are still not believed to be capable of leadership,” the 35-year-old told the news magazine Der Spiegel.
“In Europe we like to celebrate our cosmopolitanism, the tolerance of our societies. We gender. We have quotas for women. We even have female referees refereeing the whistle for men’s soccer games. And that’s a good thing.” Boateng continued. “But where are the black coaches who coach white players?”
The former Ghana international therefore welcomes the fact that all five African participants at the World Cup in Qatar were coached by coaches with African roots.
“Teams need coaches who understand their players, their strengths and weaknesses, their origins, their culture in order to play at the top,” said Boateng, who played for 13 different European clubs in his career.
Meanwhile, former Ghana coach Otto Addo has backed Kevin-Prince Boateng over lack of opportunities for black coaches in Europe.
“Black coaches are “crassly underrepresented in European football, especially in England or France, where many people with a migration background live due to history,” the 46-year-old told the magazine “11 Freund”, “racist structures are lived unconsciously.”
For Addo, the lack of black coaches is also a reflection of society: “Unfortunately, the fact is that people with a migration background are less likely to hold management positions everywhere, including in football.”
