Anti-Racist Project - Common Goal

Tackling racism through football

Structural and systemic problems make football inaccessible and unwelcoming to marginalised communities that often lack the money to participate, have no access to facilities or supportive coaches trained to understand anti-racist approaches and techniques.

To address these challenges and tackle the continual lack of action that follows the repeated condemnation of racism, a coalition of football industry leaders has teamed up with Common Goal to launch the Anti-Racist Project (ARP).

The initiative was launched in the United States with clubs from the top divisions of US football, and the 30,000-member United States’ supporters’ group, American Outlaws. Since then, a growing number of clubs, brands, subject matter experts, and players have joined the ARP in our mission to fight racism on and off the football pitch.

The ARP aims to implement a series of activations, including an Executive Level Training Series for the leaders of clubs and football NGOs and the Switch the Pitch initiative, a digital competition that trains and empowers football coaches to lead anti-racist programming in their communities

In order to accelerate and scale the impact of the project, the members of the coalition are inviting all industry stakeholders interested in making football more equitable to join the project.

The Goal

End racism in football: on the field, on the sideline, in the front office and across our communities.

The Strategy

To tackle systemic racism by providing anti-racism training across the professional and grassroots football industry.

How it Works

The ARP is a comprehensive, needs-based training curriculum that tackles systemic racism across all levels of professional and grassroots football.

Challenge

Structural and systemic discrimination creates inequality in access to and participation in football for marginalised communities, especially for BIPOC.

Barriers to participation

BIPOC youth are excluded from football due to economic, geographic, and cultural barriers.

Low leadership representation

In youth and professional club front offices, BIPOC representatives lack equal access to leadership and decision-making roles.

Lack of awareness & allyship

Low number of BIPOC coaches; lack of training in anti-racist approaches or collective consciousness on racism across the professional and grassroots game.

Solution

Work against the personal and structural mechanisms and dynamics that cause and enforce racism, with:

Executive level, Anti-Racist training

A series of intensive experiential trainings and education materials for executive staff in professional football & NGO leadership.

Switch the Pitch

A remote competition that unites the football community behind anti-racist action through experiential learning formats and anti-racist training.

Advocacy, education & activation

A series of actions for members of the professional game to build awareness, solidarity to activate anti-racist practice and leadership.

Impact

Anti-Racist awareness and action is embedded into organisations at all levels of the game

Short term impact:

Inequities in football are acknowledged and affirmative steps are taken to address systemic inequalities in the game

Mid term impact:

Increased education and access to tools for each stakeholder affecting positive and measurable change in their respective level of the game.

Long term impact:

Football becomes an inclusive and diverse environment that celebrates differences and encourages equal access.