NI Sport & Human Rights Forum explores tackling racism in sport

On 25^th June, the latest NI Sport and Human Rights Forum meeting explored the role of sport in tackling racism.

The first speaker was Carine N’koué, Secretary General at the UEFA Foundation for Children, who shared some of the Foundation’s initiatives to tackle racism in football. Carine spoke about examples of projects funded by the UEFA Foundation that demonstrate good practice in this area, including some local to Northern Ireland.

The Forum then heard from Mehrshad Esfand from Street NI, an organisation which. Mehrshad spoke about sport and his journey from service user at Street NI to joining the team to help others. A young athlete, Casey, also shared some of her experiences facing racism on the football pitch.

Dr John Fernandes, Academic Team Lead Sports Performance, Cardiff School of Sport and Health Sciences, followed to speak about his collaboration with other academics to produce the paper: ‘Simple rules for creating and sustaining an anti-racist sport and exercise organisation’. The research contains practical guidance on becoming an anti-racist sporting organisation, which John shared in an easily digestible way, sparking interesting discussion amongst members.

Finally, Brian Armstrong, Restorative Practitioner at Alternatives Restorative Justice, spoke about some of the restorative justice initiatives Alternatives have been working on involving sport, including efforts to tackle incidents of racism.

NIHRC Chief Commissioner, Alyson Kilpatrick, said:

“The NI Sport and Human Rights Forum’s latest meeting discussed using sport to tackle racism.

The recent violence and riots in Northern Ireland have shown we still have a lot of work to do in addressing and tackling racist attitudes and behaviour in our country. Sporting clubs and organisations are in a unique position to reach a wide audience, including young people, so it is of vital importance they consider their responsibility to address these issues and create safe and inclusive spaces for everyone.

It is encouraging to see members of the Forum showing their commitment to tackling racism, therefore protecting and promoting human rights. I would like to thank the representatives from UEFA Foundation, Street NI, Cardiff Metropolitan University and Alternatives Restorative Justice for taking the time to speak to Forum members about their work.”

ENDS

To sign up for updates or to attend the next NI Sport and Human Rights Forum, please email info@nihrc.org.

Find out more about the presenters:

UEFA Foundation: https://uefafoundation.org/

Street NI: https://www.streetsoccerni.org/

Dr John Fernandes: https://pure.cardiffmet.ac.uk/en/persons/john-fernandes

Alternatives Restorative Justice: https://alternativesrj.co.uk/