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- French Football Unites Around a Powerful Anti-Racism Campaign
French Football Unites Around a Powerful Anti-Racism Campaign
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Number 67
French Football Unites Around a Powerful Anti-Racism Campaign
Featured Focus:
Athlete-Driven Impact, Community Programs
Scope of Impact: Nationwide
As part of France’s national week for education against racism and antisemitism, the French professional football leagues (LFP) launched its sixth consecutive large-scale anti-racism campaign. Here’s the pitch (yes, we like a pun now and then):
A powerful symbol: Players and referees are sporting a distinct jersey badge, boldly crossing out "Racisme" within "Racisme Football." This isn't subtle; it's a clear, unified statement broadcast from every Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 team.
Visibility amplified: The message permeates stadiums via giant banners, LED boards, and public announcements. Rival clubs even came together for symbolic photo shoots, demonstrating that unity transcends on-field competition. The EA Sports video game for the French league also made the distinctive jersey available to gamers.
Action beyond the weekend: This isn't just a one-off. The campaign is part of the LFP's year-round action plan, including mandatory workshops and partnerships with anti-discrimination associations. Jersey auctions are also funding partner organizations, ensuring sustained impact.
All over the world, football/soccer has always been at the forefront of the fight against racism. FIFA and national leagues have annual campaigns, and the French leagues are part of this push.
We love the holistic approach of the LFP initiative. It activated an entire ecosystem to ensure that the message of the campaign would be amplified and visible by fans in the stadium, online, in front of their TV, and even in video games. There’s a charitable component to the initiative, as well, with the auction of jerseys to benefit anti-racism associations.
The campaign was aligned with a nationwide campaign against racism in France, but the LFP’s efforts go beyond that. Their multi-faceted approach started six years ago and was significantly expanded with the embedding of anti-discrimination education as a licensing requirement for all professional clubs.
YOUR NEXT PLAY:
This campaign checks a lot of boxes, but we wish the league was sharing (and tracking) more tangible impact metrics beyond the number of workshops led or awareness activations organized. What we really want to know is — how effective this initiative is in changing fans’ hearts and minds about racism?
It’s a lesson we can apply to all of our initiatives. Are we getting too comfortable at patting ourselves on the back with vanity metrics, or can we push ourselves to develop new ways to measure tangible outcomes?
The French NGO, Ligue Internationale Contre de Racisme (LICRA), has been fighting racism and antisemitism since 1929. | A French nonprofit promoting the values of sport as a tool for social and professional inclusion, and combatting forms of discrimination in the sporting world. | Information on the Union Nationale des Footballeurs Professionnels, the French professional footballers' union which supports athletes’ rights, wages, safety, and standards of play. |
FIFA proposes tougher global measures against racist abuse in football, proposing that all 211 national federations make it a disciplinary offense. | Founded in 1993, the organization runs awareness programs, leads campaigns, and calls out racism (and all forms of discrimination) in football. | The campaign, in partnership with fans, the FA, EFL, PFA, Kick It Out and the police, works to fight against discrimination on and off the pitch. |
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