Kick It Out on pace to smash 'Season of Action' attendance record

Friday 31 Oct 2014
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Over 400,000 football fans have been through the turnstiles at games dedicated to Kick It Out as part of the commitment being shown by Premier League and Football League clubs towards the organisation’s ‘Season of Action.’

The season-long drive provides a greater opportunity for Kick It Out to display the work it undertakes throughout the year to promote equality and inclusion, and professional clubs play a key role in setting an example for the whole game.

A total of 411,574 fans have been able to witness pre-match activities including flag displays and players warming up in Kick It Out t-shirts, and take advantage of the distribution of badges, stickers, wristbands and magazines by club staff.

Other activity has seen tannoy announcements made about how fans can play their part in the ‘Season of Action’, used their big screens and LED advertising boards to raise awareness of the organisation’s reporting mechanisms, and dedicated space in their matchday programmes to Kick It Out.

Clubs have also contributed exclusive blogs to www.kickitout.org with Rotherham United chairman Tony Stewart, Fulham defender Dan Burn and Birmingham City striker Matt Green all giving an insight into their careers and the importance of Kick It Out’s work to them.

In addition, Ipswich Town arranged a bucket collection at Portman Road, Leyton Orient and West Ham United trained in the t-shirts in the days before their game, Birmingham City and Brighton & Hove Albion and Fulham all arranged special school and community visits.

There have been 22 games dedicated to Kick It Out so far this season, with the home team taking at least a point from all but two ‘Season of Action’ games. Only Nottingham Forest and Dagenham & Redbridge have emerged with away wins.

Manchester City and Swansea City are the only two clubs that have played as the hosts and the away side for ‘Season of Action’ fixtures while Leeds United have been the visitors twice so far this campaign as they supported Kick It Out during trips to Birmingham City and Rotherham United.

A total of 42 goals have been scored, with the clash between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur seeing the most goals with five. Other stand-out matches have included Bolton Wanderers beating Brentford, Walsall defeating Chesterfield, and Burton Albion overcoming Portsmouth.

Kick It Out has received great exposure through televised matches with 10 of the 22 nominated fixtures so far gaining coverage on either Sky Sports or BT Sport. This has helped to spread the reach of organisation’s message beyond fans in the stands to those tuning in across the country.

Keeley Baptista, Professional Game Manager, said: “The great support of the clubs within the stadiums that has been shown so far this season, both on and off the field, has been fantastic. This support echoes the commitment of many clubs in tackling all forms of discrimination on a daily basis.

“Kick It Out continues to work with clubs all season long to educate, advise and support the expansion of their equality and inclusion work; through events, policy development and training.”

Rishi Jain, Football League Clubs Development Officer, added: “It is great to see clubs embrace our second ‘Season of Action’. Seeing players show their enthusiasm and professionalism for Kick It Out sends a really strong message to fans at all levels of the game.

“I am really thankful to the clubs for their support and with so many games televised, it’s great to see the broadcasters getting behind us too.”

With more than three quarters of the 92 clubs still to play their dedicated fixtures, Kick It Out is on pace to far exceed the 1.1 million fans that attended ‘Season of Action’ games during the 2013/14 season.

 

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"We have a responsibility as players to give something back and I’m really thankful to be part of this organisation because we can do a lot of good."
Jack Butland, 'Next 20' Ambassador
“A big part of my involvement with Kick It Out stems from my strong admiration for the organisation’s commitment to fairness and equality.”
Clive Tyldesley, football commentator
“It was Kick It Out that convinced the people in football that change was possible.”
Greg Dyke, former FA chairman
“I wanted to thank the campaigners at Kick It Out for their work. I know first-hand how Kick It Out can help.”
Yaya Toure, Manchester City midfielder
“It is important for me in my role as a Kick It Out ‘Next 20’ ambassador to teach young people how to handle discrimination and treat people with respect.”
Romelu Lukaku, 'Next 20' Ambassador
“It is a massive honour for me to be an ambassador for such a great organisation. I think they do great work on and off the field.”
Toni Duggan, 'Next 20' Ambassador
"It really helped me to see that other professional sports people were acknowledging their sexuality. I read about John Amaechi, Gareth Thomas and Tom Daley. They weren't footballers but the fact that they went public gave me the feeling that I was not alone."
Thomas Hitzlsperger, former Aston Villa midfielder
"There was no conflict between religion and the fact that I wanted to play football. I was brought up correctly and in the right way and my parents are very proud of the fact that I am a professional footballer."
Sadio Mané, Liverpool winger
“I think it’s important to share success stories and realise that there are women operating in the game. If it’s something you want to do, you can do it.”
Ffion Eade, Hampshire FA referee
"I've had loads of negative comments from men, especially growing up. It's just boring and old. Times have changed, and they continue to change. Women play football, and they're good at it, and have been for a number of years.”
Kelly Smith, England Women's record goalscorer
"Despite the progress, stereotypes still exist in football and until that is broken down it will be extremely difficult for a woman to manage a top level men's team."
Rachel Yankey, former Arsenal Ladies forward
"There’s no hiding that there is sexism in sport. We have a lack of women right across all levels of management, playing and coaching. It shows the closed nature of sport in general and this includes the media. It’s an indictment of sport as a whole."
Rimla Akhtar, Kick It Out trustee and Chair of the Muslim Women’s Sports Foundation
“I’m proud to be a supporter of Kick It Out and particularly the work they are doing to combat antisemitism within football.”
Joe Jacobson, Wycombe Wanderers midfielder
"With Kick It Out leading the way football is standing up and fighting against those who preach hatred and intolerance and we at Chelsea are proud to support their work."
Bruce Buck, Chelsea Football Club Chairman

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