KICK IT OUT!.

Kick It Out is football’s anti- racism campaign in the UK. The campaign works to challenge all forms of racism and promote equality across all football environments - from the Sunday League to the Champions League. Through working with the games at all levels racism on the terraces has been reduced significantly and every professional clubs now carries out antiracism work.

Kick It Out is funded by the Professional Footballers Association, The FA, The Football Foundation and the FA Premier League and the campaign has gone from strength to strength - however challenges remain. Racial abuse can regularly be heard on our parks in amateur football and in many parts of the country - but it goes unreported and players continue to be abused.

In the professional game, racism is becoming increasingly prevalent in some of the continents top leagues such as La Liga and Serie A, and due to the international nature of the game when racism happens in these leagues it is being beamed into our living rooms. There are also a number of exclusions in the game with only a handful of black managers and coaches in the professional football, very few black and Asian fans attending matches and still only 4 Asian professional footballers in the UK.

FIFA, World football's governing body, recently toughened up it's regulations on racist abuse following a number of high profile incidents of racism in football. Teams can now have points deducted if found guilty of racist abuse and be expelled from leagues and competitions if serial offenders. This rule applies to all levels of the game, all over the world.

Football is largely winning the battle to kick racism out of football but we need your support to make sure it stays that way. To report racism in any footballing environment please call:

 Kick it Out’s freephone number - 0800 169 9414 

Every October the football family comes together to stand against racism, whilst celebrating the diversity of the game. This year the week of action takes place between the 17 - 30 October 2006. Last year, more than 700 events took place during the week of action, including an anti- racism match day at all 92 professional clubs in England and Wales.

The week of action is now a fixture in the football calendar and the biggest series of activities of their kind in Europe. The week of action is held during Black History Month and has coincided with Ramadan. This enables opportunities for us all to celebrate these important periods. So why not join the football family during this important period and add your voice to the call for equality. Get involved!

For more information log onto: www.kickitout.org