In episode 5 of the Masters of Craft podcast, we speak with Les Ferdinand, legendary footballer and Director of Football at Queens Park Rangers on his career journey and creating new pathways for diversity in management roles within the football community. Les is currently the only black technical director in English football.

Les Ferdinand is a former professional footballer and current director of football at Queens Park Rangers. A striker, his playing career included spells at Queens Park Rangers, Beşiktaş, Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United, Leicester City, Bolton Wanderers, Reading and Watford during which period he earned 17 caps for England.

Les is the eleventh-highest scorer in the history of the Premier League, with 149 goals and he contributed a further 49 assists in the division.

The Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club based in White City, London. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. They were founded in 1886 after the merger of Christchurch Rangers and St Judes Institute, although their official founding date is 1882 which is when Christchurch Rangers were first formed.

The club's achievements include winning the League Cup in 1967, and they were FA Cup finalists in 1982. Their highest ever league finish was achieved in 1975–76 when they were runners-up in the First Division, now known as the Premier League, and qualified for Europe for the first time, reaching the quarter-finals of the 1976–77 UEFA Cup.

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