PIARA POWAR
Executive Director
FARE Network
FAULTLINES OF MASS SPECTATOR SPORTS
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Football as a reflection of the social environment
Mass migration into Europe
Rise of far- right as a youth phenomena
Fabric of some local rivalries – leading to racialised
rivalries
• Relevance of social and urban conflicts
EXPRESSIONS OF RACISM
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Abuse of black and other ethnic minority players
Anti- Semitism, anti- gypsyism, sectarianism
Glass ceilings
Failure of provision by local authorities
South to North global flow of talent – Trafficking
DEMOGRAPHICS OF FOOTBALL TALENT
• Relevance of a globalised talent base
• European Leagues with over 20% professional footballers
of African heritage
• Malpractice examples
• European mythologisies of the black male form
• The myth of the level playing field
GLASS CEILINGS
Paucity of hard data – Is institutional discrimination real?
Moral vs Talent (business) case
Key issues – Absence in leadership positions and coaching
20 of 52 European Sports Federations have no women on
Executive Boards
• Relevance of US ‘Rooney Rule’ to European landscape
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THE FARE NETWORK
• Launched 1999
• Membership of NGO’s, fan groups, player unions, FA’s
• Initial focus on racism – widened to include other
discriminations
• Active in 40 countries
• Partnership with UEFA from 2001
• Draw on mix of social marketing techniques and political
activism
SPHERE OF ACTIVITY
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Support for national level activities
Information exchange hub
Educational activities
Action Weeks
Three conferences with UEFA
Two good practice guides
FOOTBALL PEOPLE weeks
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Action in 41 countries
Over 2,500 activities
On the agenda: Homophobia, anti Gypsyism, anti-Semitism
Genuine Europe-wide activity
Georgia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia