For the second year, football’s national anti-racism campaign, Kick It Out, is co-ordinating a National Anti-Racism Week of Action in Football from 17th-28th October 2002. The week is timed to coincide with both Black History Month and a Europe-wide week of action co-ordinated by the FARE network (Football Against Racism in Europe), and will be launched with activities around the England v Macedonia match on October 16th. The aim is to highlight the fight against racism in football, whilst celebrating the involvement of Black communities in football across Britain.
Last year, 80 professional football clubs participated in the week, alongside numerous players, over 200 community groups, schools and libraries, and we hope even more will do so this year. Football fans or community groups could, for example, produce and distribute their own anti-racist fanzine or leaflet, display the History of Black Footballers Exhibition, or organise a competition to design a poster or write a song. Contact info@kickitout.org, or phone them on 020 7684 4884, for more information about the week and ideas for activities – leaflets and other supporting resources are available. Watch this space for details of FURD-related activities!