Positive work by England fans after events in Bulgaria

Friday 16 Sep 2011
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Khalsa Football Academy (KFA) are playing Bulgarian football fans in a friendly Futsal match to show a unified approach against discrimination at the Fearnhill Sports Centre in Letchworth tomorrow (17 September).

The game has been set up following the racist abuse directed at England’s Ashley Young and Theo Walcott by Bulgaria supporters during the Euro 2012 qualifier in Sofia on September 2.

Following the friendly, a focus group to stand up and stop racism at grass roots level will be launched. KFA’s campaign, Striving for Unity, addresses equality through football initiatives and workshops.

Bal Singh, head coach at KFA, said: “We can try to stop racism with other methods, but a lot of people just love their football and it is an excellent tool bringing different community groups together.”

He continued: “In the last couple of years there has been a significant increase in racism in sport at the grass roots level. This increase of intolerance towards people from different countries, religions and cultures is a worrying development and one the KFA Striving For Unity campaign will aim to address.”

From the Comet 24

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