Paul Elliott launches diversity initiative at Charlton as EFL pilots project aimed at investigating lack of community representation in crowds

Paul Elliott stopped to weigh up the changing nature of English football crowds as he launched an exciting new initiative at Charlton Athletic aimed at bringing greater diversity into the stands of The Valley.

‘The game has evolved,’ said Elliott, who made his Charlton debut at the age of 16 in the early 80s when England’s first generation of black professional footballers grew accustomed to being targeted by the vile abuse and hatred common on the terraces.

‘Stadiums generally are more welcoming. They’re far safer. There is more diversity, there are more women, families, more people with disabilities. There are far more minorities but it’s still not truly representative of a) the local demographic or b) the playing base.’

And that is what this is all about. Charlton, where 60-year-old Elliott is now back in the boardroom as vice-chair, will link up with the EFL to lead a pilot project over the next 12 months aimed at finding out the reasons football crowds do not reflect more accurately their communities and what can be done to change that.

The fact that Charlton will be at the vanguard is important. They are the EFL’s Community Club of the Year. They are woven into the fabric of their community and have been for years with successful programmes surviving their lost Premier League status.

‘The EFL have absolutely partnered with the right club at the right time,’ said Heather McKinlay, chair of CAST, the club’s supporters’ trust. ‘We were the original community club, founded by a group of friends. We fought to get back to The Valley.

‘We are part of the community so what can we do to make it a better place to spend a Saturday afternoon or a Tuesday evening. It bugs me in a way that we don’t know the answers.’

Eight players in Charlton’s first team squad have come through the club’s academy and at least as many more were born and raised in London.

The League One club have also met one of the biggest challenges in modern football by ensuring the coaching staff through all tiers of the club is socially and ethnically diverse.

Yet they will accept that the vibrant multiculturalism of their corner of the capital should be more evident in the matchday crowds.

‘That’s how we will thrive,’ said Elliott. ‘The social aspect of diversity is important and the human aspect is important. Can we enhance the economic aspect of diversity not only for Charlton but for the other 71 clubs in the EFL?’

They set out to find answers to questions like these and more during the next 12 months, linking closely with the Royal Borough of Greenwich to understand the demographic, feed off the data and tempt people into the stadium.

‘What we find out can make a big difference,’ said Elliott. ‘We are honoured, humbled, privileged to be part of this because of what we stand for. This will modernise the club, take it forward, make it fit for purpose in the 21st Century. And, I think, for all English football.’