The Black Soccer Academic Research Group

The Premier League Diversity Report

2026: Preliminary Findings

The Black Soccer Academic Research Group has undertaken a groundbreaking review of the representation of Black and Brown footballers in the English Premier League (EPL).

Designed and led by former Manchester United professional Richard Flash, our inaugural publication of the Premier League Diversity Report is a statistical analysis of the league's representation of Black and Brown players.

We analysed data from 547 player entries in the 2025-26 Premier League season. A 'small' sample of our preliminary findings are listed below with the groundbreaking club-by-club analysis to be published this November.

• Black and Brown player representation was recorded at an all-time Premier League high.

• Crystal Palace, Chelsea and Aston Villa are amongst the teams with the highest representation.

• The number of Black players that made an appearance was an all-time league high.

• A record number of match-weeks where Black and Brown player representation was higher than White players.

• The third phase of Premier League match-weeks registered the highest representation of Black and Brown players.

• Black players represented 37.5% of the individuals that played in all 38 of their team's matches.

• Sunderland contained the most diverse squad of international players.

• Europe (32.6%), the UK (24.7%) and Africa (20%) represent the regions with the highest Black and Brown player representation.

The Black Soccer Academic - 1607