Racism on agenda in Bratislava

Bratislava conference
The pledge will come at a two-day conference to be held by the Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) network in Bratislava, Slovakia which runs until Saturday. FARE has worked with UEFA for several years in the fight to eliminate racism from the game, both on and off the field.

Good practice
The conference will bring together more than 100 members of the network from every corner of the continent in an effort to co-ordinate and share good practice at a local level and keep up the pressure on football's governing bodies.

Guest speakers
Alongside fans and campaigners, speakers at the conference will include Ján Figel, European commissioner for education, culture and multilinguism, William Gaillard, UEFA's director of communications and public affairs, and Dušan Tittel, general secretary of the Slovak Football Association.

European drive
UEFA recently presented FARE with a cheque for €400,000 to help the organisation continue its comprehensive campaign. In conjunction with FARE, UEFA has placed itself at the forefront of the European drive to rid football grounds and pitches of racist conduct.

Not tolerated
To mark the presentation, UEFA also used the opportunity to highlight its stance, saying: "UEFA will not tolerate racism in its sport, and it will not rest until racist attitudes have disappeared from both the field and the stadium. UEFA shares the outrage created by incidents of racist behaviour in football."

Taking steps
Together with FARE, UEFA's steps to prevent racism in stadiums include sanctions against spectators and players who engage in racist abuse; prevention of the sale of racist material both inside and outside stadia; introduction of equal opportunities' policies in and around clubs; and a common strategy between stewards and police for dealing with abuse.

Education key
"The programme of work with FARE also includes the education of fans, advising governing bodies on how to deal with the problem, and engaging with the growing numbers of ethnic minority communities across Europe," said UEFA. "At national level, UEFA has allocated almost €1.7m to help fund the anti-racist programmes of its 52 national member associations. This money comes from the fines that UEFA imposes on clubs and players for all forms of misbehaviour during our games.

Clear determination
"FARE is one of our main portfolio partnership organisations and UEFA continues to provide funding for the programmes of the FARE network. UEFA and FARE accept much still needs to be done, the drive to rid the game of a problem that is endemic will take much doing but our determination is clear."