Vincent Kompany’s recent appointment as Bayern Munich’s new manager has placed him in football’s history books yet again, becoming the first Black manager in the Bundesliga.

Kompany is only the second Black manager in German professional football history, with Daniel Thioune becoming the first after taking over the reins at VfL Osnabrück back in 2017. Being the only one isn’t a new experience for the Belgian boss. He was one of two Black managers alongside Patrick Vieira in the Premier league in 2022, and the only non-white manager on the league’s touchlines for the 2023/24 season. 

The lack of Black faces in the dugout doesn’t reflect the wide-ranging diversity that has graced the beautiful game in the last few decades. Though Black players feature heavily in Europe's top leagues, serving as game-changers and irreplaceable stars for some of the biggest clubs in the world, managers have remained predominantly white.

With former players like Kompany and Vieira taking over at top-flight clubs, the tide is slowly turning. But there is still a lot to be done to ensure the same opportunities and entry points into football off the pitch are available to underrepresented groups. Kompany’s new role at Bayern Munich is just the beginning of a new era in football. Here’s to more Black managers making waves in the game. 

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