[FARE] FARE Action Week takes centre stage at Champions League

[Kurt Wachter]

FARE Release          

Fight against racism takes centre stage at Champions League         

         (FARE / FairPlay-vidc, 23 October 2007)         

         UEFA’s flagship club competition, the Champions League, 
provides a platform for the Action Week being staged by the Football 
Against Racism in Europe (FARE) network.        

Europe's top football stars will help to spread the message that racism and 
discrimination have no place in European football. All 32 teams taking part 
in the UEFA Champions League will show their opposition to racism as part 
of UEFA's contribution to the FARE Action Week.         

         During match day 3 (23 & 24 October) announcements will be made 
over stadium public address systems; captains will wear Unite Against 
Racism armbands; Unite Against Racism logos will appear on stadium screens; 
and children escorting players on to the pitch will wear Unite Against 
Racism t-shirts at all 16 matches. In addition, clubs are to distribute the 
FARE Action Week poster, which will be made available in all stadiums. 
These and other activities will put over the message that everyone in 
football – players, fans, referees, coaches, governing bodies and 
media – has to take a stand against racism and join the fight.        

         Champions League marks Action Week since 2004        

This year is the fourth successive time that the UEFA Champions League has 
got behind the Week of Action against Racism and Discrimination in European 
Football. Since the inaugural edition in season 2004/05 more than 1.7 
Million fans have witnessed the anti-racism activities inside the stadiums. 
This year’s tannoy announcement has been translated into 13 different 
languages and calls upon fans to respect the diversity in the game:       
    

         "We all share a love of football and a desire to make football 
stadiums welcoming places for all fans, regardless of the colour of their 
skin, ethnic origin or religion. If you love football, you are against 
racism, discrimination and violence. Please join UEFA in supporting this 
initiative." 
 
         
Europe stands United 
 The FARE Action Week kicked off on 17 October with a series of symbolic 
anti-racism actions at a series of UEFA EURO 2008 qualifying and 
international friendly matches, including Turkey - Greece, Ukraine - Faroe 
Islands, Malta - Moldova, Republic of Ireland - Cyprus, Bosnia & 
Herzegovina - Norway, Netherlands - Slovenia, Belgium - Armenia, Germany - 
Czech Republic, Poland - Hungary and Austria – Côte d’ Ivoire. 
Until 30 October more than a thousand activities and initiatives led by 
campaigning NGOs, fan groups, clubs, national associations, ethnic 
minorities, players’ unions, youth groups and schools will take place 
in 38 European countries.         

         In addition to the pan-European Champions League, 13 professional 
national leagues across Europe are actively taking part in the FARE 
campaign. Among them are Germany, England, Greece, Serbia, Ukraine, 
Portugal and for the first time Sweden and Switzerland.         

         For further details on the FARE Action Week and a list of 
activities, refer to www.FAREnet.org. Information is available in English, 
German, Italian and French.         


        
Contact:        

Kurt Wachter, FARE co-ordination office Vienna c/o FairPlay-vidc         

 wachter at vidc.org,         

Tel. 0043 1 7133594 -90, Fax Tel. 0043 1 7133594 - 73