Kick It Out calls for united action at launch of new strategy
Kick It Out is calling for football to come together to tackle some of the game’s stubborn challenges as the charity launches its new five-year strategy, Football United.
Aiming to create a game that is more welcoming for everyone and more united in tackling discrimination by 2030, the charity has outlined four key goals where it wants greater accountability and targeted outcomes to accelerate change.
The goals are to create a football culture that includes everyone at every level, to significantly increase top-level representation for players and officials by 2030, to significantly increase top-level coach and senior leadership representation by 2030, and to ensure football meets discrimination head-on with courage and consistency.
The strategy is also a call for the game to unite at a time when underrepresented communities continue to be targeted in the current political climate, and also makes clear the part Kick It Out will play in making football more welcoming for everyone.
Football United launches at Team Lewis in Battersea on Thursday 4th September with a special guest panel including former Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre, Shrewsbury Town defender Mal Benning, Brentford women’s head coach Carly Williams, PGMO professional referee Farai Hallam and consultant Liz Ward.
Kick It Out’s goals and a greater demand for football to collaborate have come after feedback and learnings from beneficiaries, stakeholders and like-minded organisations.
Data and insights show that women, LGBTQ+ participants, disabled people and those from different faiths are still not always included in football. On the pitch there are long-standing issues related to the lack of South Asian players at elite level and representation in women’s football and among match officials.
The recent publishing of workforce diversity data by professional clubs in men’s football under FA Rule N has highlighted that they need to better reflect the communities they serve, especially in board, senior leadership and senior coaching roles. Recent incidents, particularly at the start of the current football season and during the 2025 Women’s Euros, underscore the demand for further combined efforts to combat discrimination.
Kick It Out’s strategy also shows how its role is divided into four areas.
The charity will continue to educate and develop participants, by scaling its existing education programmes, including its work with young players in professional academies, its online learning platform - The Academy - and its leading rehabilitative fan education programme. It will also boost its Raise Your Game programme to help develop underrepresented communities in football.
Kick It Out will also unite partners to drive progress and influence change by working with and challenging governing bodies, tech platforms, and regulators to create ambitious policies that promote inclusion in football, including online safety.
Using data-led reporting to tackle discrimination, Kick It Out will also continue to report incidents, call for greater transparency and advocate for decisive action.
Kick It Out chief executive Samuel Okafor said: “We want this strategy to provide a roadmap for change over the next five years that unites the game at a crucial juncture.
“In the current political climate, we’ve seen evidence where people are emboldened to attack players either online or in stadiums, while women, those from ethnic minorities and different faiths, the LGBTQ+ and disabled communities still question whether they feel safe either playing, supporting or working in the game.
“In creating this strategy, we’ve listened to many communities across football and they’ve told us that, in addition to campaigning or PR in some of these areas, they want to see outcomes. That means bringing representation and discrimination data into the light, and using it to set a pathway for systemic and measurable change.
“This is a time for football to be bold and work together to make the game more welcoming and create continued opportunities and pathways for people from all backgrounds. It’s time for Football United.”
