The latest update of English Football’s Inclusion and Anti-Discrimination Action Plan has been launched.
Chronicling the work the game’s governing bodies and campaign groups have done in tackling anti-discrimination, the plan encourages inclusion and opening up pathways for minorities wishing to contribute to the game at all levels.
Following the first Inclusion Advisory Board (IAB) meeting of the year at Brighton & Hove Albion last week, the plan looks back on the 2013/14 season as well as some of the work being done currently across the game.
Inclusion Advisory Board chair Heather Rabbatts
IAB chair and FA Board member, Heather Rabbatts, has called the plan an "unprecedented moment where collectively football can push boundaries".
Rabbatts has spoken to The Guardian about some of the current challenges facing the game and how the plan will help respond positively to them.
There are four key goals within the plan, each with a series of actions that are being delivered to fulfill them:
- To widen football’s talent pool
- To clarify anti-discrimination regulations and sanctions
- To instill confidence in reporting discrimination
- To increase knowledge and awareness
Partners in delivering this work include the Premier League, the Football League, the Professional Footballers’ Association, the League Managers’ Association, the Professional Game Match Officials, the Referees Association and Kick It Out, football’s equality and inclusion campaign, whose work is all charted in this document.
Flagship initiatives such as On Board, the governance training forum for Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic (BAME) former players, the COACH bursary scheme and the body of work around reporting discrimination, are just some of the highlights.
Click here to download English Football’s Inclusion and Anti-Discrimination Action Plan (pdf).
