The figures, drawn from reports across the professional game, grassroots football and online spaces, show discrimination remains a serious and growing challenge across the sport at a time of political and social tension, but that record reporting numbers suggest a continued willingness to call it out.
Reports increased in all three areas of the game, with online reports up 5% to 650, professional game reports up 41% to 636, and grassroots reports also up 41% to 458.
Racism remains the most reported form of discrimination, with 792 reports, up 19% year-on-year and making up 45% of the total. Reports of sexism rose 12% to 216, homophobia rose 46% to 203, Antisemitism rose 43% to 93, ableism rose 20% to 89, and Islamophobia rose 88% to 60. All six areas represent new highs over the five years since Kick It Out has been tracking data more extensively.
Although the figures reported to Kick It Out represent a snapshot of discrimination across football, they track rises recorded by the UK Football Policing Unit (UKFPU) last season, and the Football Association’s latest grassroots data for the 2024-25 season.
The increase in reports also comes after Kick It Out set up reporting relationships with Her Game Too, Football v Homophobia and the Frank Soo Foundation to boost confidence to report abuse, record data transparently and drive further outcomes.
Kick It Out continues to campaign for greater accountability from social media firms, alongside football governing bodies, UKFPU and Ofcom to make football a more welcoming game for everyone. Last season the charity delivered its 500th Fan Education session to those who have discriminated in football, with the reoffending rate standing at 1.25%.
In addition to the rise in overall figures, there were some other notable trends.
Kick It Out received 142 reports of discriminatory mass chanting during the season, a 41% increase on last year and the highest number recorded. Reports included increases in racist, sexist and homophobic chanting, alongside rises in transphobic and ableist chants.
The organisation also recorded a rise in reports involving anti-immigrant language, with terms such as “stop the boats” and “send them back” reported at all levels of the game. Kick It Out received as many reports of this nature in 2025-26 (39) as in the previous two years combined (37). The percentage of South Asian heritage participants being targeted by racism also increased, including a rise in reports where the p-word was used.
Abuse towards officials increased significantly last season, with 97 discriminatory reports matching the same level as the previous three seasons combined. More than a third of those reports were sexist towards women officials.
Grassroots youth football also saw a concerning rise, with reports involving U18’s football increasing for a fifth consecutive season. The total of 248 reports represents a rise of a third and the highest youth football figure Kick It Out has recorded.
Kick It Out’s chief executive officer Samuel Okafor said: “These figures show that discrimination remains deeply embedded across the game at a time when we’re also seeing rises in hate crime and divisive political rhetoric in Britain.
“But they also show that people are more willing to stand up to abuse when they see it, and it’s encouraging to see professional players set that example last season.
“While we recognise that there is a lot of good work ongoing in football to tackle discrimination, we will continue to work with football authorities, clubs, leagues, regulators and government to ensure we match the courage shown to report abuse with clear and consistent action so that football is welcoming to everyone.”
Read the full statistics here.
