Slovenia: ‘Count to 11’ campaign targets hate speech

Hate speech has become a worldwide problem in recent years, with social media and digital outlets full of hateful comments often aimed at a person’s self-worth, integrity and beliefs.

Sadly, the situation is no different in football, a sport so full of emotions that hate speech has become almost a normal part of that world. But it should not be like that.

To do something about it, the Football Association of Slovenia has started a corporate responsibility project with the men’s premier league in an attempt to tackle hate speech on digital platforms.

Promotional video

Together with professionals who deal with similar topics on a day-to-day basis, the association will organise workshops for the clubs’ youth teams and their parents to help them deal with and avoid online hate speech. The campaign was launched in mid-March with a promotional video showing a boy getting hurt trying to stop a shot when playing football and his peers making fun of him for it.

The campaign has received support from UEFA, which “thanks the Slovenian Football Association for its leadership and commitment in tackling discrimination in accordance with UEFA’s football sustainability strategy. We are energised by this initiative and send our best wishes to the Football Association of Slovenia for a successful campaign. UEFA will continue engaging all European football stakeholders in the years to come to protect the game we all love.”

This article originally appeared in UEFA Direct 201