exhibition
Boards

Clubs with a conscience


Since the Charlton Athletic Race Equality (CARE) programme was launched in 1992, the English Premier League club Charlton Athletic has linked anti-racist work with integration. The aim is to create a more open atmosphere to facilitate access to grounds and active participation in football for ethnic minorities.

With the help of the council seven workers were taken on. In surveys conducted at school they investigated "whether fear of racist abuse is stopping children from visiting home matches". Free tickets were made available to selected local groups. Regular anti-racist club days were organised. Players visited schools to talk to the children. CARE grew into a network for local community work, for example with groups such as the victim support organisation Victim Support Greenwich or the Participatory Theatre.

Along with neighbours Millwall and Crystal Palace and various non-league clubs the South London Partnership Against Racism was formed. Anti-racist awareness programmes, coaching sessions for migrants and a hotline for reporting racist incidents were organised. By 1996 one-fifth of Charlton's home fans came from ethnic communities.

A similar situation developed in Northampton. A day of activities organised by the Let’s kick Racism out of Football campaign in 1996 induced Northampton Town to launch an anti-racist programme. In October of the same year Northampton became the first English club to adopt an equal opportunities policy. Initial activities included free tickets for members of ethnic communities, coaching sessions for migrants and official statements against racism. Institutions associated with football were also involved, from the city council to the fans.

The activities of Northampton and Charlton became a model for many other clubs and individuals such as Sean O'Donovan, a supporter who wanted to do something himself and started lobbying for Walter Tull. Tull was the first prominent black player in England. He played for Tottenham Hotspur and also made 110 appearances for Northampton between 1911 and 1914 before he was killed fighting in World War I. With the help of the club and the Anti-Racism Working Party O'Donovan even won the support of prime minister Tony Blair for a memorial to Walter Tull in a specially laid out memorial garden. The memorial was ceremonially unveiled in 1998: not just for Walter Tull, but also in commemoration of all black players in England.