The Austrian Football Association (ÖFB), the Football Association from Bosnia and Herzegovina (NSBIH) and the initiative FairPlay. Different Colours. One Game together get active for a football without discrimination and emphasise to use the potentials of sport for a respectful and peaceful society. The message against discrimination will be visible in the stadium, all fans and spectators are invited to speak out for diversity and mutual respect.
Christian Fuchs (team captain of Austria):
“Discrimination in the form of offenses or exclusion must not have any place in football. This should not only be obvious for all football fans, but also for our society in general.”
Edin Džeko (team captain of Bosnia and Herzegovina):
“There is no place for discrimination and nationalism in football. We as players are role models, our national team is a symbol for unity and diversity.”
Elmir Pilav, director of competitions of the NSBIH, said about the importance and effectiveness of such actions:
“Just recently all teams of the Bosnian Premijer Liga showed discrimination and nationalism the red card. We are convinced that such activities are well received by the participating clubs, fans and players.”
The encounter of the two teams is a special one as they have a long common and also conflictual history. Many people from the former Yugoslavia live nowadays in Austria, particularly in Vienna: until 1918 Austria and Bosnia and Herzegovina were part of the Habsburg Monarchy, in the 1960ies many people came as so called “guest workers”, in the 1990ies as refugees, today as guests and visitors. People from Bosnia and Herzegovina are a formative part of the Austrian society, culture and everyday life.
Valentin Inzko, High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, explained the role of football after the civil war in the 1990ies:
“Football has become a unifying element. The teams are building bridges from ethnic minority to ethnic minority, from sports person to sports person, and above all: from human being to human being. These tasks are also and in particular the ones of football in Bosnia and Herzegovina. As a bulwark against nationalism, racism and fanaticism.”
A clear signal for respect, friendship and against exclusion and racism will be set with this joint match day action. Nowadays stereotypes – towards people of different origin or skin colour, different gender or sexual orientation – should not be a topic in society or in the stadium anymore.
Since 1997 the ÖFB and the initiative FairPlay. Different Colours. One Game are working together. Since 2006 activities against discrimination take place at national team matches annually. FairPlay-VIDC is also active in the Western Balkans and since 2007 a partner of the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Together with the “Balkan Alpe Adria Projekt“ (BAAP) youth tournaments, stadium actions, workshops and seminars are organised successfully.