Diversity in football: how to build respect and care in the dressing room
Diversity in football is not addressed only through campaigns or institutional messages: it is developed through the way a dressing room speaks about people, their families and their differences. Day 11 of the 2026 World Cup Diary provides a very useful case for coaches: a player spoke naturally about his eldest son being autistic and explained that it is important to show the world that everyone faces difficulties. From the dugout, the lesson is not to intrude into a player’s private life, but to learn how to create an environment where difference is treated with respect, sensitivity and good judgement.
Diversity in football: the person before the footballer
Diversity in football begins when the coach remembers that every player arrives at the training ground with a story that is not always visible. They have family, concerns, beliefs, responsibilities, fears, routines and personal circumstances that may influence how they train, compete and relate to the group.
The Day 11 case is powerful because the focus is not on a technical action or tactical decision, but on a human statement. A player known for his natural way of communicating talks about his autistic son and does so through one simple idea: we all live with difficulties. That sentence allows a coach to open up a dressing-room conversation about respect without turning it into forced emotional exposure.
The key lies in the approach. It is not about asking players to share private stories or turning family diversity into a moral lecture. It is about establishing a cultural standard: in this team, nobody uses another person’s differences as a joke, a label or a reason for exclusion. That standard should be trained as consistently as reactions after losing possession or defensive communication.
How to talk about family diversity without invading privacy
A coach can work on diversity in football without asking anyone about their private life. The conversation should focus on group behaviours, not individual confessions.
A useful opening might be: “In a dressing room, we live alongside different family realities. We do not need to know everything about one another, but we do need to respect what we do not know.” This sentence protects two important ideas: sensitivity and privacy.
The coach can then move the conversation towards specific behaviours. Which jokes are unhelpful? Which comments can hurt even if they seem harmless? How should the team respond if a player shares something personal? What does supporting someone without asking too many questions look like? How do you prevent a family difficulty from becoming dressing-room gossip?
Diversity in football is protected when the team learns that respect does not require explanations. You do not need to understand every detail of a team-mate’s life in order to treat them well.
Care before exposure
The same Day 11 case offers a second lesson: the player prioritises his son’s wellbeing and avoids forcing him to attend matches because of the noise or exposure. For coaches, this is a clear example of putting care before image.
In youth football, exposure can seem like an opportunity: photos, tournaments, social media, cameras, visits, interviews or family moments around the player. But not everything that is visible is necessarily positive. Sometimes caring means giving up a nice picture, a photo opportunity or a public appearance if that situation does not respect the person’s wellbeing.
The coach should communicate this idea to young players: family is not an image resource. Loved ones are not there to complete the footballer’s story. They are there to be cared for, respected and protected.
This also applies to the player themselves. A footballer may not want to share a personal situation, may not want to appear on social media or may need privacy during a difficult family period. The coaching staff must understand the difference between supporting and exposing.
The coach’s role in dealing with comments, jokes and labels
Diversity in football is tested in small moments: a joke about someone’s family, a poorly chosen word, a comment about someone being “weird”, an imitation, a label or a laugh that leaves a player uncomfortable. If the coach looks the other way, the dressing room learns that this boundary is negotiable.
Correcting the situation does not require dramatising every incident, but it does require clear intervention. A short phrase may be enough: “That is not how we behave in this team.” Afterwards, if necessary, the coach can speak privately with the player who made the comment and explain why it was unhelpful.
The coach should not simply punish. They should educate the language used within the group. Some players repeat expressions without understanding their impact. The correction should teach that respect is not only about intention; it is also about effect. If a joke causes someone to withdraw, distance themselves or feel that their family situation will be judged, that joke has no place in the dressing room.
An intelligent team does not only read the game better. It also reads the people it competes alongside more effectively.
Scientific basis: inclusion, autism and safe sporting environments
Research on sport and autism indicates that autistic people can benefit from sporting participation across physical, psychological and social dimensions, although participation depends greatly on having an appropriate environment and support that is sensitive to individual needs. (PMC)
A review of physical activity in children with autism indicates that different types of programmes may contribute to improvements in communication, social skills and motor development, provided that they are adapted to the characteristics of the participant and the context. For coaches, the lesson is clear: saying “everyone is welcome” is not enough; specific conditions need to be created for inclusion to be genuine. (PMC)
Other studies also highlight the role of the coach relationship, available resources and the wider environment in creating positive sporting experiences for young people with autism and intellectual disabilities. In dressing-room terms, this reminds us that inclusion does not depend only on individual goodwill, but on how the environment is organised, how people communicate and what support is available. (PubMed)
Psychological safety in sport is also relevant. Recent research has adapted this concept to high-performance environments and suggests that teams need settings where speaking up, making mistakes or expressing a difficulty does not lead to disproportionate social consequences. From the dugout, this means the player should feel able to be a person without becoming less competitive. (Taylor & Francis Online)
Assessing results according to the context of the opposition
Day 11 also raises a grey area: Portugal’s 5–0 win over Uzbekistan opened up a debate about the value of a personal record achieved against clearly weaker opposition. For a coach, this case is useful for teaching one important idea: not every result means the same thing, even when the scoreline is emphatic.
Putting a result into perspective does not mean taking away credit. It means teaching the player to analyse context. Winning 5–0 can be valuable if the team maintains respect, concentration and quality until the end. But it can also inflate conclusions if it is interpreted as absolute superiority without considering the level of the opposition, the stage of the match or the actual competitive challenge.
Diversity in football also includes competitive respect for the opposition. “Crushing the weaker team” cannot become part of the culture. A development team must learn to compete with ambition without humiliating, exaggerating celebrations or building its identity around another team’s inferiority.
A useful dressing-room question is: “Which part of this result reflects our merit, and which part reflects the context?” That question develops analysis. The player begins to understand that the scoreline is a piece of data, not a complete explanation.
Practical task: respect, privacy and genuine merit
A 25-minute session can work on the three main lessons from Day 11.
First, the coach introduces a short conversation about family diversity. Nobody is asked to share personal situations. Only one standard is established: the dressing room must be a place where family, personal or sensory differences are not used as material for jokes or unwanted exposure.
Second, the group works on a language exercise. Players identify phrases that may make a team-mate close off and replace them with more supportive responses. For example, changing “don’t exaggerate” to “do you need anything?”, or “that’s weird” to “I didn’t know that, thanks for telling me”. The task is not about using perfect language, but developing greater awareness.
Third, the discussion moves onto the pitch. A conditioned match is organised with a fictional large scoreline. One team starts 4–0 up and must maintain intensity without humiliating the opposition: keep playing simply, respect the opponent, avoid exaggerated celebrations and maintain collective objectives. The other team must continue competing without giving up or breaking down emotionally.
At the end, the coach asks: “What does respect look like when you are winning?” and “What does respect look like when you are being outplayed?”. At that point, diversity in football stops being an external concept and becomes competitive behaviour.
Common mistakes when working on diversity in the dressing room
The first mistake is treating diversity as a one-off talk. If the coach later allows jokes, labels or harmful comments, the message loses all credibility.
The second mistake is forcing people to share. Privacy belongs to the player and their family. The dressing room should be safe precisely because nobody is forced to reveal something they do not want to share.
The third mistake is confusing respect with pity. A person or family living with a different reality does not need to be treated as weak. They need to be treated with dignity.
The fourth mistake is believing football is separate from personal life. Players compete with their own stories, even when they do not talk about them. A coach who understands this can correct and support more effectively.
The fifth mistake is judging only the size of the scoreline. A big win may demonstrate efficiency, but genuine merit must be assessed according to the opposition, context, behaviour and competitive respect.
Expert quote
Diversity is protected in the small details of the dressing room: in the jokes that are stopped, in the privacy that is respected, and in remembering that before working with footballers, we work with people. The Coach Mentor protects that environment every day.
— José Ignacio Marcet · Marcet Research Institute · 2026 World Cup Development Observatory · Code 202603182024
Frequently asked questions about diversity in football
How can a coach talk about diversity without making the group uncomfortable?
They should talk about standards of behaviour and respect, not personal details. The central message can be simple: we do not need to know a team-mate’s entire story in order to treat them with dignity.
What should a coach do if there is a joke about autism, family or disability?
They should intervene. This can be done with a short and clear statement, without humiliating the player who made the comment, while still establishing the boundary. Afterwards, it may be helpful to explain privately why that language has no place in the dressing room.
Does diversity in football affect performance?
Yes, because it influences confidence, communication and a sense of belonging. A player who feels respected can focus more effectively on learning and competing; one who feels judged is more likely to protect themselves or disengage.
Should coaches ask players to share their personal stories?
No. Coaches can create safe spaces, but they should not demand exposure. Sharing must always be voluntary. The coach’s role is to protect the environment, not collect private information.
How can players be taught to assess a big win against weaker opposition?
By analysing the context. The team should review what it did well, how demanding the match truly was and whether competitive respect was maintained. The score matters, but it does not explain merit on its own.
Practical conclusion
Diversity in football is developed when the dressing room learns to respect stories it does not know, families it does not see and sensitivities it may not fully understand. Day 11 of the 2026 World Cup Diary reminds coaches that the person comes before the footballer and that caring can also mean choosing not to expose someone.
The dugout has a clear responsibility: to create an environment where players can compete with high standards without having to stop being people. That involves language, boundaries, privacy, respect for families and an honest assessment of sporting merit. Marcet Knowledge reads the World Cup from this perspective: every matchday becomes material for developing coaches who can read the match, but also understand the human being playing it.
