PIARA POWAR

Executive Director FARE Network

FAULTLINES OF MASS SPECTATOR SPORTS • Football as a reflection of the social environment • Mass migration into Europe • Rise of far- right as a youth phenomena • Fabric of some local rivalries – leading to racialised rivalries • Relevance of social and urban conflicts

EXPRESSIONS OF RACISM • • • • • Abuse of black and other ethnic minority players Anti- Semitism, anti- gypsyism, sectarianism Glass ceilings Failure of provision by local authorities South to North global flow of talent – Trafficking

DEMOGRAPHICS OF FOOTBALL TALENT • • • • • Relevance of a globalised talent base European Leagues with over 20% professional footballers of African heritage Malpractice examples European mythologisies of the black male form The myth of the level playing field

GLASS CEILINGS • • • • • Paucity of hard data – Is institutional discrimination real?

Moral vs Talent (business) case Key issues – Absence in leadership positions and coaching 20 of 52 European Sports Federations have no women on Executive Boards Relevance of US ‘Rooney Rule’ to European landscape

THE FARE NETWORK • • • • • • Launched 1999 Membership of NGO’s, fan groups, player unions, FA’s Initial focus on racism – widened to include other discriminations Active in 40 countries Partnership with UEFA from 2001 Draw on mix of social marketing techniques and political activism

SPHERE OF ACTIVITY • • • • • • Support for national level activities Information exchange hub Educational activities Action Weeks Three conferences with UEFA Two good practice guides

FOOTBALL PEOPLE weeks • • • • • Action in 41 countries Over 2,500 activities On the agenda: Homophobia, anti Gypsyism, anti-Semitism Genuine Europe-wide activity Georgia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia