Over half of UK adults view racism in football as a problem

New polling from Ipsos explores perceptions of the most serious challenges facing professional football in Britain today. Amongst ethnic minorities, racism stands out as the top concern, with over 4 in 10 (47%) citing it as a serious challenge. In contrast, racism (37%) ranks as the third-most pressing issue for UK adults, behind rising ticket prices (41%) and the wealth gap between richer and poorer clubs (38%).

How is football viewed in comparison to other sports? 

Over half (58%) of UK adults view racism in football as a very big or fairly big problem. This is higher than the other sports polled. However, it is worth noting that football is a higher profile sport so this should be taken into consideration when digesting these findings.

• Three quarters (74%) of ethnic minorities consider racism to be a problem in professional football, compared to just over half (53%) of those with a White ethnic background. 
• Compared to other generational cohorts, Gen Z are the most likely to view racism as a problem in football with 7 in 10 (70%) rating it as a very or fairly big problem.

Worryingly, almost 3 in 10 (28%) UK adults who attend live football nowadays report hearing racist chanting at matches. This figure rises to 4 in 10 (43%) amongst ethnic minorities attending. Additionally, 3 in 10 (31%) say they hear racist comments towards football players at football matches they attend, compared to more than 4 in 10 (48%) amongst ethnic minorities attendees.

Do UK adults believe efforts to tackle racism in football have gone too far or not far enough? 

Over two fifths (44%) of UK adults say that efforts to tackle racism in football have not gone far enough, rising to more than half (53%) of ethnic minorities. Supporters/fans (45%), the official bodies who run the game (42%) and social media companies (40%) are identified most often as the groups doing too little to tackle racism in professional football. 

Just under half (48%) of UK adults think players are doing the right amount. Ethnic minorities are more likely than those with a White ethnic background to say players are doing too little (30% ethnic minorities vs 22% White ethnic groups). 

Respondents were provided with a list of possible sanctions if a club's supporters engaged in racist chanting or racist behaviour and asked whether they supported or opposed each.

• Racism towards footballers on social media was the least tolerated; seven in ten (70%) UK adults would support imposing a sanction of 10-year bans from matches for fans who do this
• More than half (54%) would support football clubs paying large fines for racist chanting or behaviour

More than three-quarters (76%) of UK adults say that people with a White ethnic background are well represented in professional football. This drops to two-thirds (66%) for people with a Black ethnic background, 62% for people with a Mixed ethnic background, and only 34% for people with an Asian ethnic background.

How likely is that that the England men’s football team will be managed by someone from an ethnic minority background?

Views are divided on whether there will be a manager from an ethnic minority background within the next five years, with equal proportions of UK adults predicting that it’s likely (37%) and unlikely (36%). 

Ethnic minorities are more pessimistic with just under half (48%) rating it as unlikely, compared to one third (33%) of UK adults from White ethnic groups. Those with an interest in football are also less hopeful with over 4 in 10 (43%) saying certain not to / unlikely compared to 2 in 10 (21%) UK adults with no interest in football. 

Younger generations, however, are more optimistic that there could be an England manager that is Asian, Black or of a Mixed ethnic background in the next 5 years, with over four in ten saying this (Gen Z: 47%, Millennials: 43%) compared to older generations (Gen X: 29%, Baby Boomer: 32%).

Technical note: 

• Ipsos interviewed a representative quota sample of 2,918 adults aged 16-75 in the United Kingdom using its online i:omnibus between 1st and 4th October 2024. This included a boost sample of 404 ethnic minorities (excluding White minorities) and a Scottish boost of 342 participants. The sample obtained is representative of the population with quotas on age, gender, region and working Status. The data has been weighted to the known offline population proportions for age, working status and social grade within gender, and for government office region and education, to reflect the adult population of the United Kingdom.
• Note on Generation demographic: The age ranges for the generations are as follows: Baby Boomers: aged 57-75, Generation X: aged 43-56, Millennials (Generation Y): aged 27-42 and Generation Z: aged 16-26.