19.06.2014

Spanish activists come together to lead change

Organisations tackling racism and homophobia in football in Spain will come together for a roundtable in Madrid, this Friday (20 June), as part of a drive to co-ordinate initiatives.

The roundtable is being called by the Fare network with the support of the Spanish sports ministry, who will host the event, and the Asociación de Futbolistas Españoles (AFE).

The meeting will analyse racism and homophobia in Spanish stadiums after a series of discriminatory incidents this season. The highest profile of those incidents, a banana thrown at Barcelona defender Daniel Alves, led to global publicity through a social media campaign.

The meeting will seek to set out a commonly agreed strategy that can be replicated across the country.

The attendees will include Fare members from across Spain, including Federació d'Associacions Gitanes de Catalunya, Federación Andaluza Arco Iris, Red Deporte, Aficionados e Hinchas al Fútbol and Movimiento Contra la Intolerancia.

Piara Powar, Executive Director of the Fare network commented, "This is the first gathering of fans and NGO groups of this kind in Spain, although action has been ongoing here for many years.

"The ideal outcome will be to develop a bottom-up Plan of Action as a result of the meeting to take on the challenges that are clear to see in Spain."

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