Football for Equality Project - Tackling homophobia and racism with a focus on Central and Eastern Europe!

FARE Action Week | October 2011 & 2012

The annual pan-European FARE Action Week aims to boost public awareness of the problems of racism and exclusion, to create a unified front in dealing with this malign influence and celebrate the diversity of cultures in football. The FARE Action Week 2011 and 2012 are integral parts of the measures of the EU-funded ‘Football for Equality’ project.

Over a period of 12 days the Action Weeks will highlight in addition to the fight against racism also discrimination based on sexual orientation. Transnational awareness-raising measures during both editions (2011 and 2012) include the production of a campaign poster and stickers disseminated in all 27 EU countries.

To highlight the fight against racism and homophobia in football the ‘Football for Equality’ project produces campaign materials for initiatives such as t-shirts, warm-up bibs, flags and stickers that are and will be distributed through the project partner organisations. In co-operation with grass-roots initiatives further activities and the production of materials for their events will be supported. in 2011 and 2012, 24 different actions, that tackle discrimination and homophobia, will be supported within the project with a maximum amount of 500 EUR each.

We are football people | The Action Weeks 2012 (16th-31st October)

Again anti-discrimination material will be produced and 12 grass roots activities can be supported within the Football for Equality project.

The call for Action with all necesary information you find, together with the one from FARE, in the download section, or read for more information about the Action Weeks in general:

External link in new windowwww.farenet.org

Grass Roots activities during FARE-Action Weeks 2012 | 16.-31. October 2012

we are football people! As in the last 2 years FairPlay supports small activities against racism, discrimination and homophobia in football in Austria and other Central- and Eastern European countries.

Within the Football for Equality project 5 initiatives will take part in the Action Weeks. Other activities are supported by pur project partners in Italy, Slovenia, Slovakia, Germany and through the European network of EGLSF.

A grass roots project from Czech rebublic gains support: the group External link in new windowBarflies United, fans of Bohemians Praha 1905, organizes an anti-racism tournament in the Center of Praha. Two Polish initiatives will be supported as well: the factory for equality (External link in new windowfabryka rownosci) is going to organize an evening with Suzie Andreis, former football player, about Tolerance in Football and the interconnection of homosexuality and women’s football. The Campaign Against Homophobia (External link in new windowKampania przeciw Homofobii) initiated the project "Fighting Homophobia in Sports” that tends to bring together LGBT activists and organizations with journalists. Within the FfE-projekt local trainings will be supported.

Two Austrian activities will be supported as well, the FExternal link in new windowreund_innen der Friedhofstribüne and External link in new windowMFFV ASKÖ 23. Find more information about the Austrian Activities during Action Weeks in the following document:

PDF DownloadPDF DownloadList of Activities in Austria


In Austria FARE partner organisation FairPlay-VIDC is co-ordinating a wide range of events.
The FARE Action Week in Austria is supported by the Austrian Ministry for Sports, the Austrian Football Association, the Austrian Bundesliga, the City of Vienna and UEFA and is co-funded by the European Commission (DG Justice + DG Education and Culture) in the framework of the EU-projects 'Football for Equality' and ‘Pro Supporters'.

 

 

Fight for Equality – The Action Week 2011 (12th-25th October)

The 12th edition of the FARE Action Weeks ran under the theme "we are all football people" from 12 to 25 October 2011 and was backed by UEFA who sent out a powerful message for equality ahead of all Champions League and Europe League matches. Also the six European partners of the “Football for Equality” project joined the fight against discrimination in and through football. A few of these activities you can re-read in the following sections.

Show discrimination the Red Card | Slovenia

On 16 October the association External link in new windowDIH (Društvo za Integracjo Homoseksualnosti, a Slovenian LGBT organisation) prepared a protocol against discrimination at a first league women football match where the players of both teams did wear T-shirts against discrimination and showed discrimination the red card. The announcement in the stadium informed the fans on the FARE Action week and was connected to inclusion, antidiscrimination with the goal of fighting racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia. Before the match the players wore Football for Equality warm-up bibs.

"I am Italy as well" | Italy

In Italy all activities of the FARE Action Week have been coordinated by UISP. 50 football teams were involved and over 800 players took the field. About 3000 participated as spectators, organizers or fan clubs and 11 organizations and clubs hosted events across all of Italy.

Just to give you an impression of the activities:
The campaign’s initiation began on 8th October in Genova, where the Sampdoria Rude Boys and Girls organized a tournament between 12 teams to raise awareness on themes of discrimination and antiracism. Most of the teams were composed of Sampdoria fans and the other teams were from Hamburg, Marseilles, Bergamo, Savona and Parma.

From 28th to 30th October was the VI. anti-racism tournament ASI ES MI FUTBOL in Lucca. 10 teams composed of diverse nationalities and social realities participated. Immigrants, workers, and students gave life to two wonderful days, teaching and learning reciprocal respect on the field, and fair play in the stands.

In Creazzo, Vicenza a photography exhibit was organized by ASD Polisportiva Jackie Tonawanda, with photos documenting the activities of the club in their fight against racism over the past year. Also a match between the Polisportiva and a team of Refugees from Burkina Faso was played, which ended 0-2 in favor of the visiting team.

Over 200 fans attended a multi-ethnic football tournament in Arezzo. The main slogan was I AM ITALY AS WELL, a call for inclusion. Teams with representatives from Nigeria, Tunisia, Bangladesh, the Dominican Republic, Romania, Albania, and teams representing the local community composed by different neighborhoods of Arezzo played together in the tournament.

ASD Liberi Nantes is a football club entirely composed of players who are victims of forced migration which has been involved in Uisp’s initiatives for years. It is located in Rome. In 15th October all Players entered the field with the FOOTBALL FOR EQUALITY banner as well as the Action Week materials which were distributed. For another match Liberi Nantes came on the field with a banner showing the slogan, NO TO DISCRIMINATION - YES TO EQUALITY as well as one saying UNITED AGAINST RACISM.

A banner with the writing IGNORING RACISM MEANS ACCEPTING IT was presented at the Frati Capuccini football pitch in the city of Cosenza. An informative brochures about football and homophobia was distributed by the youth teams.

In different places players entered the field with messages like SPORT UNITES, RACISM DEVIDES.

Liberi Nantes
Campaigning against racism
Team of Liberi Nantes

"Use your brain … bursting stereotypes!"| Austria

The Austrian Bundesliga dedicated the first weekend within the FARE AW period to the campaign challenging stereotypes. The key slogan at all matches of the two top leagues was "Use your brain … bursting stereotypes!". This Campaign was part of the bigger Football for Equality Projekt. The team captains played with “Unite Against Racism” armbands and read statements against racist, sexist and homophobic stereotypes in football. The players and the line-up kids then bursted balloons that carried the slogan and symbolized the stereotypes all of us have in our minds. In the stadia the campaign posters and balloons had been distributed.

Football for Equalitiy banners, stickers and t-shirts have been used by amateur football clubs at their matches.  Women's Football teams like the Wiener Sportklub entered the field with FfE-Flags. The Austrian National Team also participated in their Qualification match for EURO against Armenia in October. Find here a small collection of fotos.

Admira vs. Kapfenberg, Mens Bundesliga
Wiener Sportklub, Women's Team
IDEE, Amateur Team

Kollektiv Partizan Rothschild
Also grassroots activities were supported: A newly formed collective of various fan clubs from the Austrian second league club produced a fanzine that highlighted the fight against stereotypes, racism, homophobia, football for equality and other forms of discrimination. One key article was an interview with the trainer of the club Alfred Tatar who made a clear stand against discrimination, the Football for Equality campaign was presented. You can download the zine on the right.

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Download

-----Football for Equality- Material for Action Weeks 2012 will follow soon-----

PDF DownloadFARE-Poster Action Week 2012 - Women

PDF DownloadFARE-Poster Action Week 2012 - LGBTIQ

ImageFARE- Call for Action 2012

Order material

If you want to order any of the materials (sticker, T-Shirts, poster,...) write an E-Mail to
fairplay[at]vidc.org


www.fair-play.info/