No.48 September 2006 |
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Stand Up Speak Up is a campaign that empowers true
football fans to show their opposition to racism.
Following an increase in reports of racists incidents in football across
Europe, Arsenal and France striker Theirry Henry joined forced with
other top players from across Europe, and with Nike, his sponsor, to
create the Stand Up Speak Up campaign to protest against
the continuing problem. The campaign has been designed to encourage
the 'silent majority' of non-racist fans to speak up against racist
abuse in stadiums.
“One of the problems for players when they hear abuse is what
to do about it at the time on the pitch. Imagine being abused because
of the colour of your skin while trying to do your job. It's difficult
to keep your cool on the pitch when you hear this kind of stuff, but
if you let it affect you it means the racists have won,” said
Henry.
The symbol of the campaign is the black and white wristband. Players
and fans have been wearing them to show they support Theirry Henry's
campaign and their disgust at racist behavior in stadiums and in the
game. All funds resulting from the sale of the wristbands are donated
to the Stand Up Speak Up Fund and The King Baudouin
Foundation. The Foundation conducts research regarding practices in
anti-racism campaigns and projects to ensure that funds are distributed
effectively to organizations and projects working against racism in
football.
“I am not naïve enough to think the campaign will change
everything just like that, but it's obvious that standing by and doing
nothing won't change things either,” stated Henry.
Source: http://www.standupspeakup.com
Contact:
Ann de Mol KING BAUDOUIN FOUNDATION (BELGIUM) http://www.kbs-frb.be Rue de Brederodestraat 21 B-1000 Brussels - Belgium Telephone: + 32 2 511 1840 DEMOL.A@Kbs-frb.be ![]() http://www.icsspe.org/portal/index.php?w=1&z=5 |