English football must follow America's example on increasing opportunities for black coaches and the Premier League should take the lead, the authors of a hard-hitting study have said.

Now in its fourth year, the Sports People's Think Tank report has found that black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) representation in top coaching roles across the game in England remains “disappointingly low”, with fewer than one in five clubs having any senior BAME coaches.

Looking at six positions ranging from first-team manager to lead coach of the under-18s, the report found only 22 of 482 of these roles in the top four divisions were held by coaches from BAME backgrounds - fewer than one in 20.

The study's numbers are based on the situation at the start of September, when there were only three BAME managers among the 92 clubs, but since then Carlisle's Keith Curle, Nuno Espirito Santo at Wolves and Brighton's Chris Hughton have been joined by Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink at Northampton and Chesterfield's Jack Lester.

Despite these additions, the findings are clear: progress since 2014 has been “minimal” and the advances have largely come at “a small number of more progressive clubs...with a track record of hiring BAME coaches”, namely Brighton, Crystal Palace, Reading and QPR.

Given the twin facts that the vast majority of coaches are ex-players and BAME players make up nearly a third of all squads, the report concludes that the “institutionally embedded barriers which have restricted opportunities for BAME coaches in the past, remain firmly in place”.

That is why, it says, it is time for English football to copy the National Football League's 'Rooney Rule' and make it mandatory across the game.

Named after former Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney and introduced in 2003, the rule states that at least one ethnic minority candidate must be interviewed for each senior coaching position.

In his introduction to the report, which will be published on Thursday, Piara Powar, the executive director of anti-discrimination group Fare, wrote: "Without facing up to the fundamental and positive benefits it can bring, the industry will remain caught up in a cycle of expressing the desire to see change but not having the bravery to introduce the mechanism that will bring it about."

The English Football League introduced a watered-down version of the NFL rule in 2015, making it mandatory for its clubs to interview a BAME candidate for academy jobs but not first-team roles.

The 2003 ruling was named after former Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney (Getty)

Last season, 10 of the 72 clubs signed up to a pilot that would also cover first-team vacancies and that has now been extended to all clubs in the Championship, League One and League Two.

But with no commitment to run a full recruitment process nor sanctions for non-compliance, the results have been mixed, although campaigners have commended the EFL for at least trying.

Powar pointed out the Football Association told members of parliament two years ago it would implement the Rooney Rule but recent revelations about a lack of diversity among the governing body's coaching and technical staff have shown "this public promise has not been kept".

He also criticised the Premier League for being so “slow off the mark in this area”, while the report's main author, Loughborough University's Dr Steven Bradbury, wrote there was a "strong consensus" among BAME coaches and campaigners for the top flight to a "much stronger and more high-profile leadership role".

These thoughts were echoed by Washington DC-based law professor N. Jeremi Duru, an expert on the Rooney Rule and a legal adviser to African-American coaches, staff and scouts in the NFL.

Chris Hughton is the only black manager in the Premier League (Getty Images)

Speaking to Press Association, Duru said: “Looking at English Football League codes, we don't know who has been interviewed or what the circumstances were.

“The rules cannot be stranded on an island. There has to be an accountable commitment to implementation.

“But more disappointing is the lack of buy-in from the English Premier League, because everybody looks to them. I think we'd see more 'trickle-down' if they committed.

“I also believe clubs that take a broad-eyed and wide look at the talent pool will gain a material advantage.

“If you take the NFL as an example, between 2007 and 2016, 10 of the 20 Super Bowl teams had head coaches or general managers of colour. Before 2007 there was none.

“There is a strong business case for broadening your view and looking at the whole market.”