The FA is preparing to take positive action to promote black, Asian and ethnic minority coaches by making it mandatory for all England teams to have an ethnic minority coach as a member of their staff.

In an indication of how seriously the FA is taking the issue, The Times has learnt that Gareth Southgate has been asked how he would feel about adding a BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic) coach to his staff for this summer’s World Cup, but the England manager is reluctant to make changes to his back-room team so close to the tournament.

Southgate is understood to support the idea in principle, however, with FA sources indicating that the manager would be willing to accept an addition to England’s coaching