No diversity in women's football: Is racism to blame or are role models in the migrant milieu?

English football's new heroine, Michelle Agyemang, has many talents. First and foremost, of course, is scoring: With her goals in the quarterfinals against Sweden and the semifinal against Italy, Agyemang paved the way for England's women's football team to the final of the European Championship, where they will defend their title against Spain this Sunday.

But there's more. Michelle Agyemang, 19, born in Essex, grew up with gospel music and has been playing the piano since childhood. Apparently so well that the national team's kit manager brought her piano to their quarters in Switzerland. This way, Agyemang can take her and her teammates' minds off things with music. She says she's enjoying every day right now. This is probably also because she has to return to King's College in London after this summer to continue her business studies.

19 of 23 English players are white – that is not uncommon

In traditional and social media in England, Michelle Agyemang is being celebrated as a promising player in football's future. One would therefore like to mention only in passing that the daughter of Ghanaian parents is Black. But that would simplify the complexity of English football. After all, it's not a given that players like Agyemang even make it to the top.

At the European Championship in Switzerland, four Black players are active for England , four out of 23. At the men's European Championship in 2024, half of the English players in the squad were not white. This contrast is also evident in club football. In the Women's Super League, the women's top division, according to the online portal The Athletic, 15 percent of players are Black or, as it is called in England, from an "ethnically diverse background." In the men's Premier League, the figure is 43 percent.

How can this lack of representation be explained? "Young girls hardly see anyone who looks like them. They lack heroines to emulate," wrote former England international Anita Asante in a guest article for the Guardian. "The English women's scouting system doesn't have enough people on the ground. It lacks the resources and ingenuity to look in the right places."

Anita Asante reached elite football at the beginning of the millennium, playing for Arsenal and Chelsea, among others. She describes how the most important women's teams at that time were quite diverse. With the introduction of the Women's Super League in 2010, women's football adopted some development models from the Premier League. Talent centers were established in the suburbs of major cities or in rural areas. Black families, who disproportionately often live on low incomes in metropolitan areas, can less afford to send their children to boarding school. Girls' football clubs rarely offer a transport service.

Added to this are "cultural barriers," as Eartha Pond puts it. The sports teacher once played professionally herself. She is now active in local London politics and advises the English Football Association (FA) on women's advancement. "Clubs and associations should speak carefully with families," says Eartha Pond. "It's not a given that parents from Black communities let their children stay overnight elsewhere for weeks."

The traumas clearly run deep. After the Second World War, millions of people, primarily from the Caribbean, West Africa, and South Asia, came to Great Britain. They worked hard but were often discriminated against in housing, healthcare, and education. Between the 1970s and 1990s, they came to know football stadiums as places where the far-right National Front sought to recruit strong white men. And where the few Black players were pelted with bananas and humiliated with monkey noises.

In the new millennium, the FA and the Premier League sought to regain the trust of Black people through tougher anti-racism sanctions and prevention. In no other European country is the civil society surrounding football as diverse as in Great Britain. The men's teams are now very diverse, but trust in the system among Black women appears to be growing only slowly.

In 2017, long-time international player Eniola Aluko claimed that then-national coach Mark Sampson had racially discriminated against her. A long debate ensued in the media, football, and legal system in England. Eniola Aluko felt that she was not sufficiently supported by the FA as a victim and withdrew from social media due to the abuse she received. Sampson was ultimately dismissed as coach. However, during that time, many activists in England became increasingly convinced that football institutions were not taking racism among their own employees seriously enough.

If appropriate sanctions are not implemented, racist structures can become entrenched. Last week, it became public that England defender Jessica Carter was subjected to massive hostility on social media. From now on, the England team will refrain from kneeling as a gesture, as football, according to a statement, must find another way "to combat racism." In addition to the victim, Carter, her teammate Lotte Wubben-Moy also intends to withdraw from social media for the time being.

Now, in the euphoria before the final, glorification is once again dominating social media, especially with regard to Michelle Agyemang, who was still a ballgirl at Wembley just a few years ago. Agyemang has developed into a top player at Arsenal, a traditional club based in multicultural North London.

What's rarely mentioned these days are the failings in talent scouting. In the summer of 2023, Arsenal FC released its team photo for the new season – all 27 players were white. The critical reactions quickly subsided. However, associations and leagues have launched a few projects to strengthen the participation of non-white girls and women in football, such as workshops, scholarships, and mentoring programs.

Other national teams at this European Championship also failed to reflect the diversity of their societies. At the last three major tournaments, the German team had a maximum of three players with a migrant background. The reasons are varied: In Muslim families, for example, where traditional gender roles prevail, parents are reluctant to see their daughters participating in sports like football, which are still considered "masculine." The dress code, such as shorts and tight-fitting jerseys, also clashes with cultural norms in some cases.

Often financial hurdles for people with an immigration background

In addition, financial hurdles often exist. People with an immigrant background, who disproportionately often live on low incomes, often cannot afford membership fees, travel expenses, and equipment. And refugee families lack language skills and contacts with local clubs. "The DFB and its regional associations should actively reach out to people with an immigrant background," says economist Mehtap Cengiz, who wrote her dissertation on social engagement in football. "It's not enough to just print brochures and post information on the website."

Mehtap Cengiz herself briefly worked for the DFB a few years ago. She didn't get the impression that they were seriously interested in the participation of women with a migration background. "In the committees, they often talk about us without actually talking to us," she says. "When women make it onto the committees, they usually deal with women's football. And the few people with a migration background are assigned to the topic of integration."

Will the lack of diversity in European national teams and the racism at the European Championship against Jess Carter lead to a profound debate? Last week, FIFA President Gianni Infantino also spoke out. "We stand with every player and every person who has suffered racist abuse." The same FIFA recently refrained from using anti-racist messages at the men's Club World Cup in the USA. Presumably, this was also because Donald Trump dislikes such messages.