Dame Louise Martin will be replaced on the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Board by Sandra Osborne after it was criticised for a lack of diversity ©Getty Images

Dame Louise Martin will be replaced on the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Board by Sandra Osborne after it was criticised for a lack of diversity.

The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) President resigned from the Board following discussions on the lack of representation and diversity within senior management roles.

Only one out of 20 members of the Birmingham 2022 Board of Directors and Executive Management had been not white.

The Executive Management team consists of five white men and two white women, while its Board of Directors featured seven white men, five white women and one black man.

An open letter signed by 51 prominent figures from across Birmingham was recently published and called for this issue to be addressed. 

The city is one of the most ethnically diverse in the United Kingdom. 

Osborne, CGF legal advisor and President of the Barbados Commonwealth Games Association and Olympic Association, has been selected to replace Dame Louise. 

Sandra Osborne will replace Dame Louise Martin on the Board of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games ©CGF
Sandra Osborne will replace Dame Louise Martin on the Board of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games ©CGF

"Sandra is an inspiring Commonwealth sporting leader, based in the Caribbean, and sits on the CGF Executive Board as the legal advisor and chairs the Governance and Integrity Committee," a CGF statement said. 

"Besides being President of the Barbados Commonwealth Games Association and Olympic Association, she is also a prominent sports lawyer and chair of the International Tennis Federation Ethics Commission. 

"She will therefore bring a wealth of skills, experience and new perspectives to this important role.

"The CGF is proud that our organisation reflects the diversity of the Commonwealth Sport Movement and that we have a person of Sandra’s calibre to actively contribute on the Birmingham 2022 Board.

"The CGF supports the renewed commitment of the Birmingham 2022 Organising Committee to ensure that its governance and management fully reflects the diversity of the city and region.

"Dame Louise will continue to play an active role in the supporting preparations for the staging of Birmingham 2022."

Members of the Board had been expected to resign, with Birmingham 2022's chief executive Ian Reid revealing this to be the case last week.  

Reid said that existing Board members, whose identities had yet to be revealed, would step aside and an action plan would be drawn up with a series of recommendations and immediate actions to address the diversity issue.