Fighting the Battle

The Event:  Euro 2008.  The Spots: Basel and Vienna.  The Days:  Wednesday, June 25th and Thursday, June 26th 2008.  The Scene:  A range of events taking place under the Unite Against Racism initiative – including a message from team captains after the national anthems, and audience participation with multi-colored bibs for each spectator to wear before kick-off.   The Reason:  The Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) network is working closely with UEFA as a Football Social Responsibility partner at UEFA EURO 2008™ to send out a message against racism and discrimination, and to celebrate the diversity of Europe’s best-loved sport.

In 1999, a number of different organizations, ranging from football associations and players unions from varying parts of Europe met to discuss developing a strategy to attack racism head on.  Football against Racism (FARE) emerged as a network of associations dedicated to fighting racism in football across Europe.  Their call to action:  United under a common effort to create a community of those wanting to end discrimination in football.  Piara Powar, director of FARE UK members Kick It Out, said: “This summer’s Unite Against Racism campaign will send out an unequivocal message during a global sporting event with a reach of over eight billion TV viewers. While the battle for equality in sport will be by no means over after this summer, the partnership with UEFA is among the most dynamic in the field of sport and social issues.”