Sky Sports, ITV, IMG, LadBible, and Footballco among companies to offer roles to black and black mixed heritage youth

#Merky FC scheme Stormzy

Stormzy and Adidas have expanded #Merky FC, a scheme to promote black and black mixed heritage youth in the football industry. 

After offering 15 roles in its first year, it will now have 50 roles with 25 companies for its second - including broadcast and production companies such as Sky Sports, ITV, IMG, LadBible, and Footballco. There are also a number of football clubs and other organisations, including Manchester United, Arsenal, Fulham, Women In Football, Team Marketing, and more.

Applications for the scheme are open now, and the placements will begin in January 2024.

To mark the launch of the 2023 scheme, #Merky FC has released research that found 72% of people from black or mixed black heritage are more likely to apply for a #Merky FC role if it’s recommended by friend, and using this insight in combination with existing data on representation in the football industry, application bias and job openings, plus the impact of adding #Merky FC roles, the report models a projection of a 40% increase in Black representation over five years.

Stormzy said: “We launched #Merky FC last year to help level the playing field off-the pitch by providing career opportunities for young black people. I am so pleased that we’re back this year with the same focus but with an increased recognition that there is still a lot of work to be done. This requires a collective effort from the whole football community and it’s the reason we published this report – we want to show how everyone can do their bit.”

Tobi Ogundipe, founder of Diverse. and #Merky FC partner, commented: “As someone who has witnessed how the small acts of allyship can truly help to change the game, it’s important that we all recognise the need for more programs that support this across the industry. Initiatives designed to increase diversity, such as #Merky FC, can truly unlock more opportunities for young people from marginalised communities, it’s important that we all recognise the need for more programs like this to create lasting change for the next generation of future leaders.”

Steve Marks, senior director of brand communications at Adidas, added: “We’re extremely proud to launch the next iteration of #Merky FC with Stormzy. We commissioned this report to demonstrate the tangible power of allyship – in a model projecting how we together can boost representation by 40% over five years through a simple act of allyship. Since its inception our goal for #Merky FC has been to not only cultivate new opportunities for young Black people, but to inspire an industrywide movement to create a more diverse and representative world of football.”

Sagina Shabaya, senior director of impact, inclusion & advocacy, EMEA at IMG owner Endeavor, said: “IMG and WME are proud partners of #Merky FC - a joint venture between adidas and Stormzy, and support its mission to identify and create opportunities for more diverse talent to break into the business of football. We know that having a diversity of voices and experiences makes for better, more creative storytelling in our coverage, events and services and we’re excited to meet the next generation of young talent. Endeavor has built a strong relationship with Stormzy, including global representation through WME and facilitating a platform for #Merky FC to speak to 100 of the world’s top sporting executives at last month’s inaugural IMG Summit.”