Action plan for the future

By Luke Williams

The 'Unite Against Racism' conference at Stamford Bridge stadium in London, organised by UEFA, the pan-European Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) network and the English Football Association (FA), has ended with the launch of a draft guide to good practice in combating racism in European football.

Suggestions incorporated
Suggestions from the morning and afternoon workshops conducted at the conference will be incorporated into the guide. "We want to plan actions for the future," said UEFA's director of communications and public affairs Mike Lee. "Our intention is to work with FARE over the next month to produce a definitive document including suggestions and ideas from today."

'Working instrument for the future'
UEFA Chief Executive Gerhard Aigner said: "We will certainly evaluate at length what has been suggested and proposed. What we will do with the feedback from this conference is the question. What is next? We will have to integrate a number of new elements into the guide to good practice which should be a working instrument for the future."

'Things we need to add'
Piara Powar, national co-ordinator of Kick it Out and FARE, added: "Already I can see there are things we need to add [to the guide]. We can expand the range of countries and initiatives. We will take on board notes from workshops and significant others. Ultimately we hope the good practice guide will stand as the standard for practice across Europe. Once we have finalised this document it's out there for use by the football family, and available for associations to fund some of the ideas we've heard."

Great success
The conference was judged to have been a great success by many of the participants. "We're delighted that so many organisations from so many countries were represented," said Lord Herman Ouseley of Kick it Out and FARE. "It is what we pass on to the next generation that makes a difference. I feel energised and inspired."

'Long and arduous road'
However, it was also recognised that the day was merely the start of a long and arduous road towards eliminating racism from football. "I don't see these events in a vacuum," said David Davies, acting chief executive of the FA. "From here people will take away shared experiences. Ten years ago the very fact we would have been sitting here with representatives from 52 countries [discussing the problem of racism] would have been unthinkable."

'Full and constructive'
The conference began in the morning with speeches and addresses from some of the major participants. This was followed by four practical workshops for the attending delegates entitled 'Educating fans, stewards and police', 'Developing policies at a national level', 'What clubs can do' and 'Tackling racism in UEFA competitions', which Mike Lee described as "very full and constructive".

Q and A session
One of the centrepieces of the afternoon's activities was a question-and-answer session chaired by former Tottenham Hotspur FC forward Garth Crooks, which saw Chelsea FC players Marcel Desailly and Gianfranco Zola, Arsenal FC's Ashley Cole and former Chelsea and Celtic FC defender Paul Elliott discuss their views on and experiences of racism within football. Zola spoke for many when he told of the effect the conference had had on him: "I will use these experiences to try and educate my children in the right way. That's something everyone should hopefully do in the future so we'll produce a better generation."

Resonant images
Equally resonant as a final image of the day, as delegates, officials and players emerged with renewed determination to combat racism, were the words of Nelson Mandela as quoted by Piara Power earlier in the day: "Sport has the power to change the world. Sport has the power to inspire in a way that little else can. Sport can create hope where there was once despair."