PL enters into its OWN diversity programme after complaints from several clubs

The Premier League has started its own diversity program after complaints from some clubs.

All top clubs have signed up to the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Standard (PLEDIS), which was launched in 2021.

It rates clubs on their work in this area and 'provides a framework to help clubs make progress with EDI in all areas of their business'.

However, Mail Sport has been told that a number of irritated parties challenged the Premier League over the way its own EDI was monitored, and they subsequently joined the scheme they put in place.

League insiders are adamant that the decision to register was their own as they believed it was 'the right thing to do'.

There are three scoring levels involved: preliminary, intermediate, and advanced.

It is understood that the league scored at the lowest – provisional – level in its initial assessment, although those insiders have insisted that everyone participating in the program starts at the bottom and works their way up, regardless of the quality of their EDI work. .

Throughout the PLEDIS process, clubs submit evidence to demonstrate that they are achieving a range of objectives in different areas of their activities, including policies and procedures, leadership, learning and development, promoting inclusion and tackling discrimination.

Ratings are described as independent and, according to the Premier League, become 'increasingly challenging as clubs move between performance levels'.

Inspections are carried out at clubs, where an assessor meets with various staff including equality executives, board members and EDI steering groups.

Clubs then submit a report and are grilled for 60 minutes by a panel who then delivers their verdict.

A top club source, who asked not to be named, said: 'Many clubs felt they had to jump through hoops. Some found it a bit enriching that the Premier League supervised this, but did not seem to be accountable for their own organization, so they drew their attention to this.'

PLEDIS adopts the Equality Act 2010 which ensures that people are not discriminated against on a variety of grounds including age, gender, disability, sexual orientation, gender reassignment and ethnic group.