League Championship side Birmingham City, League One sides Oldham and Gillingham and League Two side Chesterfield have reportedly "implemented the Rooney Rule as part of their managerial recruitment process," according to SKY SPORTS. The four clubs, which are currently looking for a new manager, "have, or will, interview at least one candidate from a black, Asian or ethnic minority background." Sources said that former Chesterfield striker Jack Lester "is set to make a return to the club as manager." All 72 English Football League clubs "signed up to a pilot scheme" requiring them to interview at least one qualified BAME candidate for every academy coaching job in '16, with 10 clubs "extending that to the manager's position" (SKY SPORTS, 9/28). SKY SPORTS also reported League Championship side Queens Park Rangers Technical Dir Chris Ramsey said that football "should adopt a version of the Rooney Rule which considers gender as well as race during recruitment." Ramsey "believes it is important to ensure everybody has an equal opportunity when applying for footballing roles." He said, "I think it's important to use a version of it [Rooney Rule] -- we're talking about inclusion -- not just based on race. I think gender comes into it and there are other persuasions that may qualify for it. People don't want tokenism, I think it's important that merit comes into it first and foremost but it's important that everybody has an equal opportunity to apply for jobs and be considered in a serious way for a job" (SKY SPORTS, 9/28).
