Ethnic minorities welcome
Monday, January 19, 2004
Article summary
Fight against football racism can only succeed if there is greater ethnic minority participation.
Article body
Anti-racism drive
In its Guide to Good Practice, issued to the European football community as part of a concerted anti-racism drive in conjunction with the pan-European Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) network, European football's governing body says the number of black spectators should reflect the amount of black players.
Vitally important
"Involving ethnic minority fans and migrant groups in campaigns against racism in football is vitally important," the guide states. "One of the most striking aspects of all European football is the discrepancy between the high number of black players on the field and the lack of black faces in the crowd."
Racist abuse
It is estimated that some 15 per cent of all professional footballers in England and Wales are black. However, a recent survey of fans revealed that ethic minorities on average comprised less than one per cent of season ticket holders at Premier League clubs. "What's more 27 per cent of fans said they had heard racist abuse directed at players during the season," UEFA explained.
Model project
The guide named the Football Unites, Racism Divides (FURD) project in the English city of Sheffield as a model project, in that it ran football-related activities which helped counter the exclusion of young ethnic minority people – "demonstrating the way in which football, education and community involvement can be linked to bring about positive change," as UEFA puts it.
Hungary example
Another example comes from Hungary, where the Mahatma Gandhi Human Rights organisation in Budapest formed the African Star football team. The team offers refugees and people of African descent the opportunity to play football. A summer football tournament also helps bring people together.
Longer-term partnerships
"For those from within the game, relations with ethnic minority communities will need to be seen as longer-term partnerships mutually beneficial to football and the process of integrating newer communities into the mainstream," UEFA concludes.
View the UEFA guide to good practice
