Positive action against prejudice

By Luke Williams

Practical action and the exchange of ideas and experience were the key messages of the morning's activity at the 'Unite Against Racism' conference at Stamford Bridge stadium in London.

Joint chairs
The conference, organised by UEFA, the pan-European Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) network and the English Football Association (FA), is being jointly chaired by Mike Lee, UEFA's director of communications and public affairs, and Lord Herman Ouseley, the chairman of the 'Kick It Out' organisation and a representative of FARE. Lee described it as "an important, if not historic day in the campaign against racism", and also stressed that far from just being a "talking shop", the conference was designed to be a "practical day", which would lead participants to "think about what can be done in the future" and could be used as a "springboard for action across Europe".

Practical philosophy
Lord Ouseley also stressed the practical philosophy underpinning the day's events. "I hope we can shape future action to challenge racism and xenophobia within football, but also in people's everyday lives," he said. The value of inviting delegates from across Europe to share ideas, experiences and expertise was also echoed by Lord Ouseley. "We need to learn from each other, and see what we can apply for our own situations," he said.

Eyewitness accounts
David Dein, vice-chairman of Arsenal FC, who has led the way in England in engaging with all sectors of society, read several witness accounts written by Arsenal players who have suffered or witnessed racial abuse. "Racism has not gone away, and is very sadly alive and unwell," he said.

'Why tackle racism?'
UEFA Chief Executive Gerhard Aigner then addressed the conference with a speech entitled 'Why tackle racism?' in which he described racism as an "evil and a poison" that UEFA was determined to eradicate from football. Mr Aigner's speech was followed by addresses from Piara Powar, national co-ordinator of Kick it Out and FARE; David Davies, acting chief executive of the FA; Dr Alfred Sengle, vice-president of the German Football Association (DFB) and Frantisek Laurinec, president of the Slovak Football Association (SFZ).

Community engagement
Powar argued that racism "is a problem that affects all corners of Europe", and "there is not a prescriptive way of dealing with it". However, he stressed several ways in which the problem can be tackled. "Education is a key word, education of fans, of players, of administrators, of us all," he said. Powar also highlighted the importance of "community engagement" by clubs, and the need to "make sure every stakeholder in the game" is involved in the fight against racism.

Practical measures
Davies said that "football's commitment to fight racism shows our sport at its best", but also admitted that in the past, the English FA "had not been pro-active enough". The oft-stated fear that by confronting racism, the problem could be made worse was "plain wrong", Davies added. Meanwhile, Sengle outlined the raft of "practical measures" that the DFB has implemented in their campaign against racism, from regular training sessions with security and safety staff to the development of CD-ROMS containing guidelines for club officials on how to "identify, tackle and eliminate racism from grounds".
 
Slovakian initiatives
Laurinec's address showed how the SFZ had reacted to the racist abuse directed at England players from some fans that marred last autumn's UEFA EURO 2004™ encounter between the two countries. "The public, the state and police, but also the Slovak association were unprepared," he said. "Our reaction was improvised but prompt," he added, before describing educative and institutional initiatives that have since been initiated to combat racism, some with the co-operation of the country's government. After the conclusion of the opening speeches, the assembled delegates headed into a series of workshops designed to offer practical tips and encourage exchanges of ideas and further discussion.