Thomas Tuchel has confirmed members of his England backroom staff but is yet to name a black or minority ethnic (BME) coach as part of the Football Association’s own placement programme.

Performance coach Nicolas Mayer will be part of the staff for the World Cup qualifying campaign starting in March against Albania and Latvia, with Henrique Hilario appointed goalkeeper coach, while James Melbourne will work as an analyst.

The FA said in November it wanted 30 per cent of the England men’s coaching staff to be from ­ethnically diverse backgrounds by 2028. The current figure is 19.

But there has been no appointment of a BME coach to continue the FA’s elite coaching placement programme, which was started in 2018 to boost diversity among coaches.

Launched with the Professional Footballers’ Association, the likes of Paul Nevin, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Chris Powell worked on Gareth Southgate’s staff and Ashley Cole was assistant to Lee Carsley. Other participants include Joleon Lescott, Sol Campbell, Terry Connor and Kieron Dyer.

Tuchel’s appointment in October – with his role starting this week – has raised the question of whether he will be part of a legacy that has brought through BME coaches who have moved into club football with elite clubs.

The FA has said updates to Tuchel’s staff will be confirmed in due course, so more appointments will be made, with the possibility of criticism of the message it sends to young coaches if the programme is scrapped at the very highest level.

Ex-England international Powell was appointed to Southgate’s coaching staff in 2019 and worked at the delayed European Championship in 2021 and the 2022 World Cup. He was replaced by former Chelsea striker Hasselbaink, who was a popular member of the backroom team during Euro 2024 in Germany.

Hasselbaink left his position after Southgate stood down as England manager, while Nevin, who worked with the senior squad, took charge of the Elite League squad, formerly the Under-20s.

Failure to include a BME coach on Tuchel’s staff for the 2026 World Cup campaign could prompt questions over the commitment to providing top-level opportunities at a time when the governing body faced debate over the decision to appoint a foreign England manager.

Tuchel confirmed Englishman Anthony Barry as his assistant when he was appointed. The German worked with Hilario at Chelsea, where he also had Melbourne as an analyst. Mayer previously worked with Tuchel at Paris St-Germain and Bayern Munich. Carsley and his staff have returned to the Under-21s.

After starting work on Jan 1, Tuchel is expected to attend Tottenham Hotspur versus Newcastle United on Saturday.