SHOW RACISM THE RED CARD

Show Racism the Red Card's annual Fortnight of Action

Show Racism the Red Card's annual Fortnight of Action takes place in Wales from 12th - 25th October, 2011. (FUTURE FIXTURES)

This weekend will see Rhyl Football Club support the Fortnight of Action during their fixture against Guilsfield where both teams will be wearing anti racism T-shirts prior to kick off and jointly supporting the anti racist message. 

This period of concerted action encourages participation from all sections of communities to celebrate diversity and tackle racism. A major aim of the Fortnight of Action is to encourage anti-racist actions, events and initiatives to take place throughout the year. Many organisations begin their actions during October and run follow-up events during the year. One proven way of making a difference is to act on a local level to break down barriers that lead to racist attitudes and behaviour. These barriers can include:
• Racial stereotyping
• Ignorance of other cultures
• Excluding practices
• The idea that any one culture or racial group is superior to another
This year's SRTRC Fortnight of Action will once again see players in Wales show their support for the anti-racist cause. Action at games will include:

1 Players wearing SRtRC RED T-shirts
2 Players ‘RED card' action at WPL games
3 Anti-racist tannoy announcements
4 Articles in match programmes
5 Articles on club websites
6 Unveiling of anti-racist stadium hoardings
7 Involvement with local clubs and communities

Football is a sport that is followed by all, and should be an enjoyable experience for all, whatever their racial or ethnic background. We hope you enjoy the game this weekend and ask you to support the player's action before kick-off.

SRtRC have launched a new Ambassador scheme, which a clubs player along with the manager will represent the club working with SRtRC promoting their message.

Our club ambassador this season is Greg Strong who shared his thoughts on the campaign and racism in football saying: Racism is a world wide thing and schemes like this highlight so importantly the hard work that is taking place to eliminate this sort of behaviour in the sport we love.

Neil Coverley also highlighted the clubs stance against racism from a players point of view and said: Its great to raise awareness as its such a huge aspect of the game, not so much in Welsh football, more so in international matches, but never the less a huge element in the game, if we can do something at our level to help hopefully it filters through.

SRtRC's Campaign worker who's role is working with clubs across Wales utilizing football as an engagement tool for young people spoke about the FOA saying:

"This season will see more clubs than ever unite across Wales in actions prior to kickoff and all clubs are to host an event with young children using the players as role models talking to pupils about their experiences, this is a big step towards stopping racism in the play ground and in the community. The launch of the new Ambassador scheme will further highlight the support of the players and our clubs in Wales."
Jason Webber - SRtRC Wales Campaign Worker

SRtRC's work is funded by the Football Association of Wales and Andrew Howard who is the FAW Head of Competitions highlighted its importance and said:

"The Fortnight of Action, which Show Racism the Red Card coordinates in Wales, is a hugely important event in the Football Calendar. The Football Association of Wales believes that the support from its clubs during this campaign will help to educate and re-educate football fans of all ages in order to stamp out the threat of Racism in the terraces and on the football pitches in Wales."
Andrew Howard, FAW Head of Competitions

If you see or hear racism at any level of football, please report it to the club, stewards or the police.

Further details about the campaign and the Fortnight of Action can be found at www.theredcardwales.org or contact the Welsh office at:

Tel: 02920 340 422 Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it