Spread the love

 
The Football Supporters Federation have launched a survey on diversity and discrimination within UK football support … and want fans’ honest feedback .. on how diverse you feel British football crowds are … and if you have experienced or seen discrimination of any sort (not just race discrimination) in and around football grounds.

Mention the world Diversity and people’s eyes normally glass over  … it’s that buzz word that has been overused .. and really given any meaning for connection for most everyday folk ….

The fact is .. diversity actually means “reflective of the society we live in” … it could include your mates … the person next door … the families who go to your kid’s school … the young lads and lasses hanging on the streets playing football … the guys who play dominoes in the social club at the corner of your street …. the group of mums who meet every first tuesday evening of the month for a bit of a session and a catch up …

Do the terraces truly reflect the society we live in? … or is there work to be done? ….

There is an argument to say …. you stand toe to toe with a much broader cross section of society on the terraces .. and in the pubs before and after matches … and it just makes the whole football experience (to coin a w@nky term …. but I think you get my drift) much better …. more interesting .. more fun …. not so one dimensional …

When you say the world diversity, most folk always relate to race … but this is not the case … it actually covers many areas including:

  • Ethnic diversity
  • Gender – the balance of female to male supporters on the terraces & subsequent sexism (and the balance of females in senior positions in clubs .. but that’s a whole new story)
  • Disability (which covers both physical disability … such as blind or wheelchair supporters … and mental disability … which could cover a wide range of factors from fans who appear somewhere on the vast autistic spectrum to say dyslexic or dyspraxic fans)
  • Sexuality  – and subsequent homophobia
  • Socio-economic positioning (how accessible is football becoming to people lower down on the ‘social scale’?) should also feature I guess if you look at how some people feel the premier league are trying to price out the ‘average fan’
  • Age

Are you aware of these? Are clubs doing enough to encourage and make fans feel ‘welcome’ from a broader spectrum of our society …

One simple example plucked out of the sky … wheelchair access …. how does that work for your club? Is it easy or difficult for physically disabled supporters to access and support your club .. or any club you have been to? Is there any way access and these fans’ experience as a whole be improved?

I would like to emphasise … don’t get me wrong … this isn’t a ‘point a finger survey’ … its more trying to get a feel for the football landscape from the fans’ perspective … whilst getting an honest opinion from fans as to what their thoughts are …

The FSF can then see if there are any positive examples that should be highlighted … and maybe used as examples to help other clubs improve in that area …. but also pin-point any areas where fans feel more work needs to be done …

You can fill the survey here .. it will take literally 5 minutes …

FOOTBALL SUPPORTERS FEDERATION SURVEY ON DIVERSITY AND DISCRIMINATION

If you have any questions, please either tweet me on @billythebee99 or email me at beesotted(at)gmail.com as this will be on the agenda of the Football Supporters Federation National Council in the near future (of which I sit on).

Or you can tweet to Anwar Uddin (@AnwarU01) at the FSF – he used to play for both Dagenham (with Sam Saunders) and Barnet … but please don’t hold that against him.

And thanks for taking time out to get involved …

BillytheBee
@billythebee99