Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
PGMOL builds on positive strides in diversity with Leeds Beckett collaboration
The new collaboration will support PGMOL's ongoing commitment to enhancing diversity across English football, ensuring that match officials are more representative of the UK's population.
Leeds Beckett's Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in Sport expertise has developed a pioneering Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP), part-funded by the Government through Innovate UK, with PGMOL.
The initiative will build on the positive progress already made by PGMOL and aims to create impactful programmes that will promote diversity and inclusivity from grassroots level to the Premier League and beyond.
Dr Daniel Kilvington, reader in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Leeds Beckett and KTP project leader explained: "EDI is something that should be valued and prioritised in every organisation. While some organisations are further ahead in this journey, others are only just beginning to embark on it. PGMOL are making positive strides in this space and we're excited to work with them to continue this momentum.
"Our project will bring innovative, creative solutions to further embed EDI across football officiating. By harnessing our expertise, we can help set new benchmarks for diversity, not just in football but in wider society as these positive changes cascade down the leagues."
PGMOL is responsible for the training, development and provision of match officials across all levels of professional football in England - including the Premier League, English Football League (EFL) and Women's Super League.
Danielle Every, chief operating officer at PGMOL said: "The quality of PGMOL's delivery is critically important across all professional leagues in English football and our position and visibility provides a unique opportunity to address a current lack of representation of match officials. We're proud of the progress we've made so far but there is more work to be done. We are committed to continuing diversifying refereeing and this partnership will no doubt aid our progress. By leveraging our national and international platforms, we can create genuine impact in elite sports and non-sporting organisations, promoting diversity and excellence."
The 30-month project will be managed by a KTP Associate, who will be recruited as a full-time member of the PGMOL team, co-located in their offices in London. This role will be central to driving the project's success and is now open for applications. For more information and to apply for the role of EDI Research and Insights Manager, please visit the Leeds Beckett jobs webpage.
Also contributing their expertise to the project are a team of active researchers in Leeds Beckett's Centre for Social Justice in Sport and Society, including Professor Thomas Fletcher, Professor Kate Dashper and Dr Stefan Lawrence - who are experts in sport, equality, diversity and inclusion, gender equality, sport policy and social justice.
The depth of the Leeds Beckett University team's insight and commercial experience, regularly working with elite sporting associations and national bodies, means they are uniquely placed to translate research-informed behaviour change into applied solutions that could not be matched by a consultancy or another academic team.
In this article
Dr Daniel Kilvington
Prof. Daniel Kilvington is a Professor in Media and Culture at Leeds Beckett University. He is widely published with expertise on race/ethnicity, racism and anti-racism in sport, media and digital media contexts.
Professor Thomas Fletcher
Tom is a Professor within the Carnegie School of Sport. He is an interdisciplinary applied sociologist with particular interest in equality, diversity and inclusion, social justice, families and fatherhood.
Professor Kate Dashper
Professor Kate Dashper is Director of Postgraduate Research Degrees in the Carnegie School of Sport. Her research combines expertise in gender studies and human-animal studies in the contexts of events, leisure, tourism and sport.
Dr Stefan Lawrence
Dr Lawrence serves as Associate Editor of Leisure Sciences and sits on multiple international editorial boards, including Leisure Studies and Annals of Leisure Research. In these roles, he contributes to shaping peer review standards, editorial direction and the development of emerging scholarship across North America, Europe and Australasia. He regularly reviews fornational and international funding bodies, including the European Commission, AHRC and ESRC, contributing to the evaluation of major research investments in governance, equality and civil society.
He has led and co-led externally funded research projects with organisations including The Football Association, Premier League Charitable Fund, Sporting Equals, The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMO) and local authorities, translating research into workforce development, governance reform and digital transformation initiatives. Within the university, he contributes to doctoral examination, research mentoring and research ethics leadership, supporting the development of a rigorous, inclusive and strategically aligned research culture.
