Kick It Out, football's equality and inclusion organisation, is launching a consultation seeking opinions on discrimination at grassroots level. The consultation will provide players, coaches, referees and parents with the opportunity to offer their thoughts on discrimination and its impact on individuals and teams across the amateur game.
Realising the important role played by grassroots figureheads, supporters and activists across the country in their local communities, the consultation will also look to find out how Kick It Out can engage further with clubs, leagues and County Football Associations. In March, Kick It Out announced a 35% increase of discrimination reports received at the midway point of the 2014/15 season; however statistics for reports sent from the grassroots level still remained at a low level. The organisation believes that more confidence is needed in the reporting processes as well as awareness of the mechanisms in place.
The consultation will be open for a three-month period between April and June and will provide Kick It Out with essential data as it looks to shape its work with grassroots and community football in the future. To participate in the consultation, please visit the link here – http://bit.ly/1cdHM8O. Speaking about the consultation, Roisin Wood, Director of Kick It Out, said: “We are delighted to be launching our grassroots consultation. “It is important that people are aware of discrimination and its affects across all levels of the game and this consultation will help us better deliver our messages of equality and inclusion.
“We want to get a greater understanding of how Kick It Out can interact with the hundreds of thousands of people who give up their time to get involved with football at the grassroots level and help remove discrimination from the game.” Troy Townsend, Education and Development Officer for Kick It Out, said: “This consultation will help Kick It Out engage with grassroots communities up and down the country, canvass their opinions and help form a strategy to support this level of the game. “My involvement at grassroots level spans over 30 years and I am fully aware of the need for better dialogue, so that we can raise awareness around the issues of discrimination in the game.
“Hopefully the results will help strengthen the relationships we have at the grassroots level but also allow Kick It Out to develop new connections to reach further than we have ever done previously.” Jim Lusted, Chair of Kick It Out's Grassroots Guidance Group, said: “It’s great to see Kick It Out launch a consultation for the grassroots game. “It gives the people who live and breathe community football a fantastic opportunity to have their voice heard about discrimination in the game and what can be further done to ensure an inclusive football environment for all.
“The consultation will be used to shape both current and future priorities in the work Kick It Out do. I really look forward to seeing the results and working with Kick It Out’s Grassroots Guidance Group to embed the findings from the consultation into future activities at the grassroots level.” If you are interested in participating or finding out more information about Kick It Out’s grassroots consultation, please contact Cory Hendricks-Jackman, on cory@kickitout.org or 0207 253 0162
