The lack of diversity in elite girls' and women's football needs to be addressed.

Sweetman-Kirk's comments come after England manager SarinaWiegman told Sky Sports News she would love to see more black players in the team.

The debate over the lack of ethnic diversity in elite girls' and women's football was reignited by England's victory in the Women's Euros this summer. In the elite women's game, just 9.7 per cent of players are from diverse ethnic groups, compared to 43 per cent of players in the premier league.

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We need to do more and we are doing more The FA is giving more access to people who want to play football.

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The Lionesses wrote an open letter to the Government asking for girls to have equal access to football in PE lessons as a sign of their commitment to creating a genuine legacy for women's football.

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England international Ella Toone says 'a lot more can be done' to encourage diversity within the English game

Sky Sports News spoke to Toone. There's more that can be done. As many people as we can get involved in football, and as many people as we can, that's our goal.

Sweetman-Kirk insists that there needs to be more enthusiasm and energy in order to focus on ethnic diversity in the women's game.

In terms of South Asian, mixed race and Black girls looking up and thinking 'I want to be like that', there are a lot of young white girls.

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There needs to be a desire for change and a willingness to talk about it.

Change is needed. These discussions are necessary.

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We need to have these discussions. It's important that we want to do something about it.

"After that, whether it be the England Women, or whether we are talking about Kick It Out or taking the knee, we always see these sorts of things happening and these conversations had, but what is the action behind it?"

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These historic England females who have been involved in The Game were discussed. I will get them involved if I am the FA.

I'm talking to a lot of people, including Alex Scott, who is a fantastic advocate for the game, and I want to know where we're going. We don't know what to do. How can we change the obstacles facing those communities?

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Former England international Lianne Sanderson says diverse ethnic under-representation remains an issue in elite girls' and women's football in England

Those discussions are being had.

When contacted by Sky Sports News, the Football Association was unable to provide any data on diverse representation within girls and women's elite pathways.

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FA director of women's football Baroness Sue Campbell thinks meaningful change for diverse communities at the elite end of the women's game could take years, admitting the current system of Talent ID and recruitment excludes a lot of people

Sky Sports News referred to the FA's diversity and inclusion strategy, as well as its Discover My Talent initiative and Asian Inclusion Strategy update.

Mead's comments 'probably a bit ill-informed and a bit uneducated'

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The lack of ethnic diversity in the England Women squad was said to be a coincidence in an interview with The Guardian.

The article was unfair and not a true reflection of the woman who won her 50th cap in the game.

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Ian Wright said there was a systemic problem in the women's game and that he had spoken to her about her comments.

Wright said he's fond of Beth. It was a disappointment to see that. I think it was a huge moment of reflection and learning for her, despite what was said.

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Sweetman-Kirk said that the comments were uneducated and ill-informed because of the inequalities that plague the girls' and women's game.

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When a comment is made, this always comes up. We should be talking about this a lot.

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Speaking during the Women's Euros, England captain Leah Williamson said she thought the FA was on the path to making diversity a priority issue in the girls' and women's game

It's the same every time. This stuff has come up because of someone else. We are discussing it now.

There should be more black people in that England squad.

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England squad to play Austria
England and Arsenal footballer Jordan Nobbs believes the Lionesses are an inspiration to the nation

If Sarina doesn't think they are good enough to get into that squad, you have to respect her.

We should not just be talking about it because of the comments that have just been made by Beth.

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England women's head coach Sarina Wiegman has defended Beth Mead over comments she made about diversity in the squad and says she was misinterpreted and is an incredible person.

There have been conversations after the match. She has been completely misinterpreted. Beth is an amazing person and her values are really good.

Morgan: 'Too much lip service' on Talent ID

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Holly Morgan is a former captain of the women's soccer team.

It's important to stress that the Lionesses team is mostly white, but that's not because of it.

When the game was professionalised, the FA knew that they needed to reduce the number of regional talent clubs in order to make the game more inclusive.

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Rebecca Spencer of Tottenham Hotspur Women makes her way to the outfield during the Barclays FA Women's Super League match between Birmingham City Women and Tottenham Hotspur Women
Rebecca Spencer says there is a lack of Black players in the WSL and feels we need more representation to inspire young, black talent

It's not a coincidence that when you look at the England team now that it is mostly white, you're not going to get a diverse group of people competing in this game.

When I watched the Lionesses win the Euros, I thought it was a great achievement, but I'm not as connected because I'm thinking about all the people who could have been there.

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The FA has schemes and initiatives to make football more inclusive, but there needs to be a lot more done around unconscious bias training in clubs.

Sometimes it is too much lip service and not enough action to actually go into these areas and find this talent.

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Yan Dhanda says he is proud he took a stand for British South Asians in Football and hopes to see more players from the community breaking through into the professional game.

A lot of people say you have to see it to believe it, you have to see it to dream it, and you have to do what these role models are doing."

We need to go into more places to give hope. It's not just going in and seeing some players, it's actually going in with a plan that will allow them to flourish.

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Whether they make it to the Lionesses, whether they make it to the Super League or whether they make it to tier three, four, five, wherever, players need to know that they are being seen.

How Sky is trying to make change

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Sky Sports announces a partnership with Sporting Equals to support the charity’s ambition of inspiring more opportunities for British South Asians in football

Sky Sports recognised and began taking steps to address the lack of diversity in the women's game back in 2020 as part of its commitment to tackle systemic racism.

Sky Sports has worked with dozens of current and former players from diverse ethnic background in order to give them a platform to share their stories in order to inspire the next generation of female football players.

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As part of Sky Sports' commitment to British South Asians in Football, talent has been identified and signposted directly to the Football Association and other international federations.

A number of elite and potential female players and their families have been supported with off-field opportunities.

The 'Seeing Is Believing' event for the century-old west London sports club Indian Gymkhana was one of the ways Sky Sports supported participation across the country.

British South Asians in Football

Stay up to date with Sky Sports News and Sky Sports digital platforms by visiting our South Asians in Football page.

FA guidance on diversity in the women's game

Our main aim is to provide greater access for more players and we are on track to do that.

The Women's England Talent Pathway is open to any girl from any community in England.

The programme encourages referrals from any organisation or individual for players who may possess the technical, physical or social characteristics of talent players who were born in 2006-2010.

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FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said during the Women's Euros that the FA is committed to building a pathway for girls into football and increasing the diversity in the women's game

Due to the limited number of professional women's clubs in the country, it is difficult for young girls to access the sport. The positive impact that mixed football has had on talented female players coming through the talent system is something we should acknowledge and accept.

We want to support clubs to increase their playing pool through youth, provide more depth in talent and give players who represent their communities. It's job is not only to find talent in areas that may have previously not been able to access the opportunities, but also to provide support to young players and their families enabling them to reach their full potential.

British South Asians in Football

Stay up to date with Sky Sports News and Sky Sports digital platforms by visiting our South Asians in Football page.