The underrepresentation of Black Coaches in Brazilian Football
Heteroidentification of Footballers and Coaching Staff from 2023 Men’s Teams in the Brazilian Série A Championship
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22456/1982-8918.143025Keywords:
Underrepresentation, Black coaches, Brazilian football, Racial inequalities, HeteroidentificationAbstract
Social inequality is evident in Brazilian society, a reality also reflected in sports. This study aims to examine the ethnic-racial representation of footballers, head coaches, and assistant coaches in Brazil’s top men’s football (Série A). The study adopts a qualitative approach and applies a heteroidentification process to 1,062 footballers, 20 head coaches, and 45 assistant coaches. The findings reveal that 53.3% of footballers are Black and 31.7% are White. Regarding head coaches, 90% are White, and the remaining 10% could not be reliably classified, indicating a lack of Black head coaches in the top tier of Brazilian men’s football and highlighting their underrepresentation in the sport. This study underscores the importance of examining the various stakeholders involved in sports from an ethnic-racial perspective to develop measures and policies aimed at combating racial inequality in the field.
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