2014

The ‘Fans for Diversity’ campaign, jointly launched in March 2014 by Kick It Out and the Football Supporters’ Federation, has helped with a number of supporter initiatives which aim to promote diversity and inclusion across the professional and non-league game. 

Below are reports from a collection of the events and initiatives funded by the ‘Fans for Diversity’ Fund in 2014.

  • Survey aims to gain insight into women football fans

    Fans-For-Diversity-Women-At-The-MatchThe ‘Fans for Diversity’ campaign, a joint initiative from Kick It Out and the Football Supporters’ Federation (FSF), launched a survey looking to gain the thoughts of women football fans.

    The survey was part of a wider piece of research which is designed to help both organisations understand more about women’s experiences of watching men’s football and the role the game plays in their lives.

    Anwar Uddin, Diversity and Campaigns Manager for the FSF, sees the survey as crucial if football is to understand the opinions of – and the issues faced by – women supporters.

    He said: “More women football supporters are attending men’s football matches than ever before, and we want to use this survey as an opportunity to find out about their experiences. This is an important step towards helping us gauge what issues there may be and how we can do more to address them.”

    You can read the Fans For Diversity: Women At The Match report here.

  • Debate focuses on experiences of women football supporters

    Fans-For-Diversity-Womens-Panel-EventOver 40 people gathered in Shoreditch, east London, to discuss the experiences of women football supporters in a panel debate for the ‘Fans for Diversity’ campaign. Held at Amnesty International UK, the event was set up through the joint Kick It Out and Football Supporters’ Federation (FSF) campaign to encourage more discussion and understanding of the concerns of women supporters.

    Hosted by Roisin Wood, Director of Kick It Out, the debate began with the panellists, Fiona McGee, FSF National Council member, Helen Wright of London Sunderland Supporters’ Club, Katrina Law, Chair of Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust, and Hayley Bennett, Kick It Out’s Education Officer and an Arsenal supporter, explaining their paths into supporting their own clubs and the issues they have faced as women football fans.

    The discussion was then opened to the audience, who were invited to offer their own thoughts, and given the opportunity to ask the panel questions on the topics surrounding women fans. Issues raised during the debate included women having to “prove” themselves as dedicated supporters of their team, sexist chanting at football grounds, social media abuse and the difference in atmosphere between men’s and women’s games.

    Held in an open environment where differing opinions were expressed and recognised, the event provided insight and objectivity of where women supporters stand in the modern game and how this can be progressed before the debate was closed with the final thoughts of the panel.

    You can read the full report of the initiative here.

  • Bradford youngsters given opportunity to watch Bantams

    Shapla-EventChildren from the Asian community in Bradford have been given the opportunity to attend two of Bradford City’s home games in November as part of an initiative run by the club and the ‘Fans for Diversity’ campaign.

    The Bantams will have welcomed 60 children over two home games at the Coral Windows Stadium as part of the initiative, which is aiming to encourage the local Asian community to attend fixtures.

    ‘Fans for Diversity’, jointly run by Kick It Out and the Football Supporters’ Federation (FSF), provided 30 tickets to the match against Gillingham last Saturday (22 November) as well as another 30 for their next home clash with Leyton Orient on Saturday (29 November).

    Before the first match of the initiative, BEAP provided a series of activities for the children at the Shapla Football Academy, including football lessons for the youngsters before heading to watch the League One fixture.

    At the game ‘Fans for Diversity’ provided gift packs for the youngsters which included souvenirs and a club scarf to enhance their matchday experience.

    You can read the full report of the initiative here.

  • #PrideinFootball bringing together LGBT fans for inaugural event

    Pride-in-FootballIn November, LGBT fans from across the country met for the first ever national LGBT fans’ group conference – #PrideinFootball.

    Individuals fans and members of 20 different supporters groups met in London to discuss the burning issues affecting LGBT fans and the future of LGBT fans’ groups, and to help establish informal networks and contacts with like-minded fans.

    Hosted by Kick It Out and FSF, alongside the Gay Football Supporters’ Network (GFSN) and supported by Football v Homophobia (FvH), #PrideinFootball represented a big step forward for the national co-ordination of LGBT fans’ groups.

    Throughout the event, LGBT fans were able to share their experiences and debate campaign matters in a range of workshops and panel discussions. These focussed on campaigning for change within football and how fans’ groups could help tackle discrimination, the mechanisms for reporting homophobic, biphobic and transphobic abuse, and how LGBT groups should be structured.

    More than 80 delegates attended the conference – and from the discussion there was general agreement that each of the 20 Premier League clubs should in future have a recognised LGBT group.

    #PrideinFootball aims to engage not only with established LGBT groups, but to also reach out to fans who are not part of a group, or geographically isolated, so that support, help and encouragement can be offered to those who are thinking about what they can do to play their part in making the football truly inclusive.

    You can read a full report of the initiative here.

  • Punjabi supporters groups to unite to celebrate multiculturalism

    The Punjabi Rams and Punjabi Wolves Supporters joined forces in November 2014 to promote their clubs to the fans of both teams, with around 100 fans getting involved. The event was supported by the FSF and Kick It Out who helped to organise and partly fund the event via the ‘Fans for Diversity’ fund.

    Coming together for the Wolves vs Derby County fixture, the groups created a party atmosphere despite the wintry conditions. Anwar was in attendance along with Anna Jӧnsson from Kick It Out for the pitchside pre-game presentation – the two Punjabi groups produced a banner for Remembrance Sunday, carrying the poppy and their logos.

    Both supporters’ groups are open to fans from any background and they hope their joint event will encourage locals to sample the matchday experience for themselves. The ‘Fans for Diversity’ fund provided the money for both groups to design and purchase new flags, which accompany their fans home and away.

    While football is extremely popular in the Asian community, many supporters have never been to a game. The matchday “habit” is often formed as a child, with parents or grandparents taking kids to the game.

    But that formative influence isn’t always there for young Asians, so Punjabi Rams and Punjabi Wolves Supporters hope actions like this will show that football is a welcoming environment for fans from all backgrounds.

    You can read a full report of the initiative here.

  • Supporters discuss equality within football at panel event

    Equality-In-Football-EventOver 60 football fans descended on the Impact Hub in central London to discuss the importance of equality and inclusion within football, increasing the power of supporters at their clubs, and the work needed to be undertaken to diversify crowds attending matches at all levels of the game across the country.

    During the panel discussion, supporters were encouraged to put forward their contributions on the ongoing battle to eradicate the discrimination from the game in a lively discussion as part of the Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) Network’s official ‘Action Weeks’.

    Marcus Spellar, presenter of the Football Ramble, hosted the panel which included Mark Doidge, a leading expert on European football fan culture and a Lecturer at the University of Brighton, Carrie Dunn, a freelance journalist and lecturer in Sports Journalism at the University of East London, and Billy Grant, a Brentford and England supporter who is a member of the FSF’s National Council.

    The remaining members of the panel were Pav Samra, a member of Derby County supporters’ group the Punjabi Rams, and Anwar Uddin, the FSF’s Diversity and Campaigns Manager whose role is shared with Kick It Out, as the discussion focused on a range of topics such as the experiences of those at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the importance of fan representation at boardroom level.

    A common theme which ran throughout the evening was the encouraging progress which has been made in English football to tackle overt racism within stadiums, but the acknowledgement that there are many challenges which still need to be addressed such as the level of homophobia, biphobia and transphobia. On a separate topic, German football was praised for how fans feel more embraced.

    You can read a full report of the initiative here.

  • From Headscarves to Football Scarves

    Fans-For-Diversity---Headscarves-to-Football-ScarvesArsenal welcomed 20 South Asian girls from the ‘From Headscarves to Football Scarves’ initiative to Emirates Stadium for their dedicated Arsenal for Everyone fixture against Hull City on Saturday (18 October).

    ‘From Headscarves to Football Scarves’, which is spearheaded by Luton Sixth Form College and the National Asians in Football Forum (NAIFF), was launched in March 2014 to increase participation of South Asian women and girls in football.

    The initiative has the support of a joint project, entitled ‘Fans for Diversity’, led by the Football Supporters’ Federation (FSF) and Kick It Out, which aims to increase diversity within football crowds on a matchday up and down the country.

    The first match of ‘From Headscarves to Football Scarves’ saw over 100 local South Asian girls watch last season’s Football Conference champions Luton Town beat Chester 3-0 at Kenilworth Road before the group headed to Wembley in May to witness England’s 3-0 victory over Peru.

    Arsenal are the first Premier League football club to get involved in the initiative as the group of 20 young women and their families travelled to North London to watch the Gunners take on Hull. The girls joined a cross section of fans who represented a number of Arsenal in the Community initiatives as part of the club’s commitment to Kick It Out’s on-going ‘Season of Action’.

    Butch Fazal, Student Development Adviser at the College and Chairman of the NAIFF, said: “We’ve gone from the Conference to the Premier League, via Wembley! The campaign is really picking up speed and, in partnership with the FSF and Kick It Out, I can see it reaching out to a much wider audience.

    You can read the full report of the initiative here.

  • ‘Season of Action’ match highlights disability football at Lewes

    Fans-For-Diversity-event---Lewes---Non-League-DayRyman Premier Division side Lewes held a special day of football at the Dripping Pan on Saturday (6 September) for their dedicated ‘Season of Action’ fixture against Wingate and Finchley.

    The Rooks recognised the work of Kick It Out on Non League Day through its ‘Fans for Diversity’ campaign, a partnership launched with the Football Supporters’ Federation (FSF), which helped host a match between disabled fans on the Dripping Pan pitch prior to the first-team fixture.

    The campaign funded a squad from Barnet Mencap, who represented Wingate and Finchley, to travel to Lewes with both teams donning ‘Fans for Diversity’ t-shirts for the match. Sky Sports News HQ profiled the game as part of their day-long coverage at Lewes.

    They featured a live interview with Sean Macleod, Mental Wellbeing Manager at Lewes, and Anwar Uddin, the FSF’s Diversity and Campaigns Manager, as they both discussed the important role football has in providing opportunities for people of all backgrounds.

    Both sides played out a thrilling end-to-end game as they shared the spoils drawing 5-5. The teams were also supported by their first-team counterparts on the sidelines before they took to the field for their Ryman Premier Division contest.

    You can read a full report of the initiative here.

  • Eastbourne Borough supporters back 'Fans for Diversity' campaign

    Eastbourne-Fans-For-DiversitySupporters of Vanarama Conference South club Eastbourne Borough showed their support for the ‘Fans for Diversity’ campaign, run by Kick It Out and the Football Supporters’ Federation (FSF), when they travelled to Concord Rangers last Saturday (23 August).

    Borough fans descended on the Aspect Arena in their droves, and they wore yellow ‘Fans for Diversity’ t-shirts to display their commitment to creating a welcoming, diverse and inclusive environment for matchgoers from all backgrounds and walks of life across the country.

    The ‘Fans for Diversity’ activity undertaken at Concord ties in with Borough’s own ‘Diversity-Sport for All’ project and took place on what turned out to be a successful day all-round for Borough as they emerged 3-1 victors thanks to a brace from Gavin McCallum and a Richard Pacquette strike.

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