Are anti-racist football campaigns reaching the grassroots?
ANTI-RACISM has now, partly because of high-profile efforts from the CRE and its chairman Sir Herman Ouseley, made its way into football. This year’s Kick It Out campaign, backed by Blair and Hoddle, was launched in January with the Home Secretary visiting Birmingham City Football Club, and Tony Banks was guest speaker at a conference organised by socialist MEPs at Old Trafford on ‘Tackling racism in football across Europe’. Increasingly, those who want to influence young people are using well-known footballers to spread the anti-racist word. In Scotland, Hearts striker Jose Quintongo and Hibernian’s defender Algerian Jean-Marc Boco recently launched Edinburgh’s poster campaign to reinforce zero tolerance of racism. It was, of course, a massive step forward. Only six years ago it was left to a handful of dedicated radicals in supporters’ groups to raise the issue of racism. It was local community campaigners leafleting against fascists and racists on the terraces. While black players a
