RAHEEM Sterling has called for English football to seize the moment and finally address its lack of black representation in positions of power.

The Manchester City and England forward made the comments during an appearance on the BBC's flagship political programme, Newsnight, in the wake of anti-racism protests that have taken hold across the world.

Reflecting on his own sport, Sterling pointed a finger at the long-running disparity between the number of high-profile BAME players and the dearth of those who go on to win significant managerial, coaching or administrative jobs.

Sterling cited the respective fortunes of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, who have landed top roles at Rangers and Chelsea in the early stages of their management careers, as compared to equally experienced black players including Sol Campbell who is manager of Southend United. 

"This is a time to speak on these subjects, speak on injustice, especially in my field," said Sterling.

"There's something like 500 players in the Premier League and a third of them are black and we have no representation of us in the hierarchy, no representation of us in the coaching staffs. There's not a lot of faces that we can relate to and have conversations with.

"With these protests that are going on it's all well and good just talking, but it's time that we need to have conversations, to be able to spark debates.

"But at same time, it's coming together and finding a solution to be able to spark change because we can talk as much as we want about changing and putting people, black people, in these positions that I do feel they should be in.

"I'll give a perfect one. There's Steven Gerrard, your Frank Lampards, you have your Sol Campbells and you have your Ashley Coles. All had great careers, all played for England.

"At the same time, they've all respectfully done their coaching badges to coach at the highest level and the two that haven't been given the right opportunities are the two black former players.

"I feel like that's what's lacking here, it's not just taking the knee, it is about giving people the chance they deserve."

Sterling also feels the lack of representation in the game's governance, suggesting a more diverse mix is needed in the corridors of power.

Asked what would represent success for the change movement, he said: "When there's more black people in positions. When I can have someone from a black background for me to be able to go to in the FA with a problem I have within the club. These will be the times that I know that change is happening."