‘Truly inclusive environments value cultural diversity’

(Manisha Tailor was speaking prior to her promotion to the role of head of coach development at QPR earlier this year)

My name is Manisha Tailor and I am head of coach development at Queens Park Rangers FC and assistant coach for the England women’s under-15s as part of the England Elite Coach Programme.

I was previously assistant head of coaching at QPR under our former technical director and head of coaching Chris Ramsey, where essentially my role was to deploy and disseminate the philosophy across the club to the different coaches and help the coaches with how we play across the various age groups.

In the day, I would also assist either Chris Ramsey, Paul Furlong, Andy Impey or Micah Hyde on the training pitch with the development squad and under-18s, and then in the evenings would predominately work with the under-15s and under-16s, particularly looking at the transition of our under-16s going into scholarships.

I am in my eighth season at QPR now and there have definitely been changes over that time since I came in as a volunteer in 2016. That is particularly the case with the landscape and culture within football as a fraternity, be that men or women.

I came into an environment where our club is definitely representative of the demographic it serves, both on and off the pitch.

I met Chris Ramsey initially in 2014 at St. George’s Park, where we were both on a panel, and then again at an event run by Troy Townsend and Kick It Out when we were mentors back in early-2016.

I was fortunate to meet somebody like Chris. I got to know him and he invited me to come down as a volunteer initially.

As a black man, he had faced adversities himself as a player, a coach and a manager. He also has sisters and a real level of empathy for women and people from all walks of life regardless of individual differences. To have an ally in him to support my development made the transition from full-time education to football a lot easier.  

As a teacher, as well as school football, I did a lot of work within grassroots and community organisations on the weekend. In 2010, I trained as a headteacher and a year later found myself working in football full-time; a decision led by moral purpose. My twin brother had suffered a mental health breakdown when we were 18 and football was something that we shared. Football allowed me an opportunity to connect with my brother which in turn led to an alternative career path which has since brought me much joy. 

At QPR, I started off just picking up the cones and watching from the sidelines. Those who know Chris know he is firm but fair so it wasn’t a case of ‘well off you go and work with the players’. It was very much about do your time on the grass, learn the environment and hone your trade – I had to really get to grips with the workings of an academy within a professional football club and how that landscape differs to primary education, which is what I was used to. So having the allyship and coaching support from the likes of Chris Ramsey, Micah Hyde, Paul Furlong, Andrew Impey and Paul Hall was so important as a woman and as a South Asian female.

I was a part-time academy coach for two seasons before moving onto a full-time role as foundation phase lead and thereafter assistant head of coaching and more recently, head of coach development. When I was a deputy head, I was used to managing women, so managing an all-male staff certainly helped my personal growth as a senior leader. Over time I found that I began to develop a greater bandwidth allowing me the versatility to manage adverse situations.

I am very small in stature – only four foot nine – and have found that at times, this resulted in a perceived inexperience. I suspect it was also perceived that I would have stepped over people in terms of a hierarchy to get into a full-time role. I have learned that you have to be very resilient, adaptable and have a high level of self-awareness, without ego. You have to observe, listen, understand people, and get to know the landscape. 

I think the pressures that being a minority in a majority group brings is that you constantly feel you have to be better or more qualified or more educated than your colleagues – who maybe don’t look like you or have those common or shared protected characteristics. So, for me, having the support mechanisms within the whole club has been key in helping me sustain this upwards trajectory in my career.

Truly inclusive environments value cultural diversity. They can see how cognitive diversity shapes conversations and provokes thinking as people have a wider range of skill sets and experiences meaning they will have different ways of thinking and communicating. This not only reduces groupthink but helps to ensure that the decision-making on player and coach recruitment is more fairly informed.

Conscious inclusive recruitment and greater accountability can help to create real change in terms of ethnically diverse representation and particularly South Asian representation, be that on or off the field. Key stakeholders, governing bodies and clubs have a responsibility to ensure that every individual who wishes to work in football is provided with equal access to the opportunity.  

Positive action programmes and coaching initiatives have provided me with several fantastic opportunities in my career as a coach, with the England Elite Coach Placement programme being one of those. Over a number of camps, I have had the pleasure of working with John Salomon and other great staff with the WU15s and have learned a great deal from John’s experience within the England Talent Pathway and women’s football.

Football has afforded me the opportunity to choose to do what I love, but it is those that have invested in me that have afforded me with the opportunity to make a difference to the lives of others through the power of the game.