Racism in Football

           With football clubs investing so much money in their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), how detrimental have the actions of players, such as John Terry and Luis Suarez, been to football’s efforts to stamp out racism? Nowadays, football clubs have a huge role to play in society that goes beyond winning or losing games. They are ambassadors for the community they represent. In the English Premier League (EPL) and other top leagues, clubs allocate a percentage of their annual revenue to fund CSR programs. Large parts of these programs are geared towards eradicating racism within the modern game.

            The EPL is the most diverse football league in the world. Statistics show that only roughly 38% of the league’s players are English, and the majority of those play for lower ranked clubs. With around 68% of the league’s players coming from all over the world, racism is a big problem that the EPL faces. The majority of EPL teams have set up Cultural Integration Programs (CIP) that promote diversity, equality and positivity in their respective communities, regardless of race. These programs aim to create a sense of togetherness in  communities where everyone has at least one thing in common: adoration for their local football club.

            With clubs pouring in millions of their revenue to design and maintain these CSR programs, everyone involved with the club should follow suit. Of course, I am talking specifically about the players themselves. Football fans of different countries, ages and gender look up to these players as role models and the players need to realise that everything they do is observed and scrutinised. John Terry’s alleged racism towards Anton Ferdinand is a perfect example of how one player can ruin the efforts made by their club. People look up to Terry and he needs to be setting an example instead of letting them down. Perhaps the clubs should invest more time in teaching their own players to promote equality before preaching to their local communities. It makes the clubs seem like hypocrites, which obviously has a negative impact on their public image. In my opinion, John Terry has already done the damage and needs to work hard with his publicist to restore his image regardless of whether or not he is found guilty. I am proud of the EPL’s efforts to stamp out racism but I think it would be a much more accomplishable goal if the players made a collective effort.