In celebration of Black History Month (October) and National Anti-Racism Week of Action in Football, (17-28 October), FURD will be involved in a series of events:
The regional launch of the Anti-Racism Week of Action will be held on 17th October in Tudor Square in Sheffield city centre. FURD, in conjunction with Sheffield City Council, will be running a Streetkick (3-a-side) tournament in the square. Representatives from local clubs Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Barnsley, Rotherham and Doncaster Rovers will be invited to attend to talk about what their clubs are doing to combat racism, and their activities for the Anti-Racism Week of Action.
On 25th October FURD members will be attending the launch of an exhibition about Arthur Wharton at Doncaster Museum. Arthur Wharton was the world’s first black professional footballer and 100 yards world record holder. He later worked as a pub licensee and a miner in South Yorkshire, and the exhibition constructed by Doncaster Museums will link the story of Arthur Wharton to local history.
FURD’s education/youth worker will be visiting schools with the History of Black Footballers Exhibition, and sessions on tackling racism will be delivered. Schools have also been invited to participate in a competition to compose a football chant using anti-racist lyrics to any style of music. An event to showcase the winning entries will be held at Sheffield Wednesday’s ground in late November.
On 27th October there will be a 5-a-side event at Pitz Powerleague in Sheffield called ‘Communities United’. This will be a tournament played by invited refugee groups from around Britain.
Contact FURD for more information about any of these events.