Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) has announced an anti-racist activity programme for this summer's EURO 2008, where messages against racism, discrimination and for more respect will be prominent.
The initiative at the UEFA European Championships this summer will be headlined Unite Against Racism.
The programme which has been developed in close partnership with UEFA, will be launched at an opening day reception on Saturday 7th June, at the Hilton Hotel in Basel.
UEFA President Michel Platini will lead the involvement of the football family together with other prominent players, NGOs and fans.
Over the three weeks of the event the Unite Against Racism activities will feature:
- A specially commissioned TV spot shown at all matches
- Pitch side advertising boards with the 'No to Racism' message at every game
- Branded captain's armbands
- Every ticket to feature a Unite Against Racism message - over 1 million in total
- "Unite Against Racism" will appear on steward bibs as well as substitute player's bibs
The campaign will reach its climax at the semi-finals in Vienna and Basel, where the four team captains will deliver an anti-racism message to be beamed into homes across the world.
Outside of the stadiums, the 'StreetKick' game will tour five host cities with a programme of fans and ethnic minority communities taking part.
To support this, FARE will use its expertise with a series of monitors at games. A multilingual hotline will be advertised alongside an email address to report racism and discrimination.
FARE has also been working with the Football Supporters International (FSI) in a UEFA backed partnership to develop activities for travelling supporters to Austria and Switzerland.
Fans' Embassies will be set up in key areas of each host city will be major information and meeting points for fans throughout the tournament.
