Hi, everyone!
If you have been following The Good Football content for a while, you know that the issue of racism in football always finds its way here somehow. As a Brazilian living in Spain, this could not be different given the constant buzz around me here.
This topic frequently floats around in my head, and recently, I have been giving it more room to exist in there so I can learn why it touches me so much and what I can do about it. Recently, I set out to research and turn my attention to anti-racism campaigns in football - an interest sparked in me during the last FIFA window when Brazil and Spain played a friendly game “against racism.”
The match was announced as part of different initiatives against racism organized jointly by the two federations. I generally keep my hopes low for these things, so I can’t say I was disappointed, but this time, I was left wondering if maybe we just don’t know how to create effective anti-racism campaigns in football.
Before even touching on the subject of the campaign, let’s talk about the pre-game.
Previous to the match, we watched a very emotional Vini Jr give a press conference - alone. Even though he was praised for his bravery and resilience and spoke well, it felt somewhat wrong to watch a black young man talk and cry about being tired of having to fight racism instead of just playing ball, while being applauded by a group of primarily white journalists. I have nothing against these journalists; it just goes to show that this is yet another space within football that still needs to be more diverse.
That same day, during the Spanish press conference, Real Madrid captain Dani Carvajal stated, out of all the things that could have been said, that he doesn’t believe Spain is a racist country. Sigh. Making this discussion about something that it isn’t appears to be a pattern. What if the joint initiatives included these press conferences, and discussions or informative sessions among players?
But back to the topic of the campaigns.
Santiago Bernabéu was covered in visual assets spreading the campaign’s motto, “One Skin,” and the Brazilian federation created a special warm-up jacket with the (excellent) campaign’s visual identity - worn only by the Brazilian team. “But I thought we were all one skin!” was what instantly came to my mind. I know there are infinite limitations and small-letter rules backstage to make anything happen in football, especially when dealing with two giant brands with rival kit suppliers. Still, you would probably agree that the message delivery could have been more consistent and impactful.
I then asked myself if I had ever seen a consistent, impactful, and effective campaign against racism in football, and I couldn’t think of any that really stood out. The initiatives I remember the most were fan-generated, mainly in my local and national context, but I still couldn’t tell you about their actual impact.
*Here is where I was going to cheekily ask you to pretend that the “we are all monkeys” frenzy never happened.* Instead, I wonder if the discomfort we feel when looking back at it speaks of the evolution of the collective consciousness regarding race and all its entailments. If it does, it also points to the inefficiency of most clubs, leagues, and federations to catch up to this new approach and respond to the ever more inadmissible racist episodes. Consequently, the potential of any campaigns and the talent of the creatives behind them end up confined to ‘Stop Racism’ advertising screens, which at this point have become white noise (I promise the pun was accidental).
Since my memory failed me, I turned to research. After spending some time investigating online, I came across different fleeting initiatives from leagues and federations, an award-winning campaign from Inter, and established organizations, such as Kick it Out and Fare, tackling the issue of racism in football in different ways.
Most recently, Juventus has stood out for developing anti-racism initiatives such as the “Sulla Razza” podcast, which dares to touch on more profound levels of the issue, and the “Never Again” tools to monitor and combat racism at their stadium and social media. Unfortunately, despite these innovative efforts, the club is one of the multiple Italian teams recently involved in racist abuse episodes from some of the fans.
The complexity of the issue of racism in football hints that no simple solution will do, and the current scenario might indicate the urgent need for a new direction.
Inspired by one of my favorite authors, Tomáš Halík, who taught me to appreciate questions more than answers, and guided by the acknowledgment that thinking I have the key to solving this puzzle would defeat the whole purpose of what I am trying to do here, I propose a few questions to reflect on.
Truth happens in the course of dialogue. There is always a temptation to allow our answers to bring to an end the process of searching, as if the topic of the conversation was a problem that has now been solved. But when a fresh question arrives, the unexhausted depths of mystery show through once more. - Tomáš Halík
Should the top priority be to admit the mistakes and listen?
I would like to believe that black people were actively involved in the making of the majority of these campaigns and initiatives. Still, something tells me that that’s not necessarily true. I really hope I am wrong. However, potentially, we could trace the inefficiency of such campaigns back to the voices attempting to propose solutions to a problem they don’t fully know. There is a scene in American Fiction that illustrates this very well, in which a jury of authors is gathered to decide which book to award. One of them says, “I just think it’s essential to listen to Black voices right now”, after the opinion of the two black authors in the room is disregarded by all.
Besides not listening, there seems to be a significant difficulty in admitting when there is racism. The accusations are usually received as attacks on one’s identity, and the responses tend to be wrapped in efforts to defend it. (Remember the Spanish press conference?) No club, league, confederation, player, fan base, or nation can stand to be labeled as racist, and the first reaction is usually to protect those of their own.
Which leads me to my second question.
Could embracing the competitive nature of the sport be beneficial?
Correct me if I’m wrong, but 9.9 out of 10 times, the racist abuses are targeted at the rival players or fans. Are the campaigns missing the mark when they insistently revolve around the fact that we are all the same? Before you yell at me, think about it. Or even better, think about your team’s biggest rival. The nemesis of your biggest or latest loss. The group of fans you cannot stand being around, but you have to pretend you do when they arrive on Sunday lunch because, well, they are family (speaking from a friend’s perspective here). Are we not constantly trying to show that we are NOT like them? The us vs. them is a crucial element of the game and one of the reasons why we are so drawn to it. So, could we be doing better in adapting the message to these dynamics, still promoting respect and nondiscrimination, instead of trying to replicate one that seems irrelevant to the audience?
Should there be more monitoring and measuring?
How can effective strategies be developed to tackle such a complex and wide-reaching issue without proper data and insights about the problem? And how will the impact and success of these campaigns be indeed known? Maybe some of these previous campaigns were much more effective than we think, but their impact wasn’t properly measured.
Thankfully, organizations like Fare have been responding to this need, but I fear the work to achieve real change will be much harder if more stakeholders don’t engage in data collection efforts.
What about starting by example?
It is doubtful that any campaign against racism will be successful without inside-out change, meaning that the internal structure, workforce, policies, and investments need to reflect what is being promoted from the door out. Perhaps if the different stakeholders advance racial justice from within, their external efforts would be more believable and engaging.
Can we do it without boldness?
Will it be possible to put an end to racism in football, or even get closer to achieving that, before those who hold decision-making authority dare to be bold and challenge the current way of doing things? What will it take for someone to step up and do it? Can we hope this is already in the works?
To close off, I want to reaffirm that this content intends to encourage reflection, conversation, and, hopefully, action. I don’t believe in sitting back and pointing out the mistakes of someone else’s efforts. Still, I do believe in making good use of the advent of the internet to stay well informed, in doing our research, and in promoting relevant conversations on our platforms.
I genuinely believe there are excellent professionals out there who have tried to change this reality and are still working hard to end racism in football. It still feels like we are so far away from achieving that, though, and it got me thinking: Why is that so?
Please share your thoughts, opinions, and comments about the subject in the comments below. Do you also find the inefficiency and apathy of most of the campaigns against racism in football bothersome?
THE GOOD LINKS:
🌎 Real Betis’ Forever Green special kit.
🇳🇬 What Nigeria’s captain said about the floods in the South of Brazil.
📺 This list of “the best sport documentaries ever.”
🧠 This campaign by Panenka.
🔬 This project, led by Nike, to research and reduce the number of ACL injuries in women’s football.
📽️ This idea. (Also, now Twitter and Instagram seem to think I am a Genoa fan. 🙃)
👏 This *metaphorical* goal scored by Crystal Palace’s Ebere Eze.
🥺 This endearing moment shared by a Bologna player and his nonna.
🧶 This knitwear collection.
♻️ This gift that a Barça grandpa got.