Can sport build bridges in post-Brexit Britain?

Reported incidents of racism in the UK increased 42% in the weeks before and after the EU referendum. Connectsport.co.uk asks what can sport do to reduce tension and restore community cohesion across a traumatised nation?

Amjid Khazir is the founder of Media Cultured UK, which provides training and workshops to tackle racism and radicalisation in schools, colleges and sports clubs. His organisation has been working closely with Middlesbrough Football Club to train their staff in inclusion and diversity, with a particular focus on understanding Islam.

The evidence suggests this is crucial work. Following the terrorist attacks in Brussels and post Brexit, Islamophobic messages tripled on Twitter, according to Demos, the Centre for Analysis of Social Media.

Amjid said: “I was laughing at a tweet the other day – it said ‘look at these immigrants taking our jobs’ with a picture of Klopp, Mourinho, Conte, Guardiola, Wenger, Pochettino and Ranieri. I remember John Barnes at Liverpool, and thinking how can people be racist and then support football teams with people from all over the world representing their club?

“I think sport can play a massive role in trying to tackle that prejudice, especially on a local level and within those groups who perhaps socio-economically might be struggling. I can understand that maybe sometimes football clubs want to take a step back and don’t want to be seen to be too politicised, or favouring one group in the community over another. But I think they could do more and get out there to engage with those groups, and show that they are the hub of the community – regardless of what background you are from. And because of the rise in racism post-Brexit, it’s even more important that they do that.”

He explained: “In our work with the likes of Middlesbrough Football Club and with staff from schools and businesses; participants have themselves felt there had been a change in atmosphere. Even amongst our friends and families, it feels like this vote has given some people the confidence to say things which normally they would not have said. It’s all been fed by the negative rhetoric which some parts of the media have contributed to, so it’s crucially important that we challenge this, turn it around and say ‘no, we won’t have this’. I feel football clubs and their sponsors can do much more to help.”

Amjid’s organisation is a Social Enterprise which has been working with Boro for almost a year, culminating in a group of club staff recently making their first visit to a local Mosque.

He explained: “The invitation to the Mosque was really just to meet and greet, and build that link between the institutions. It was the first time any of the Boro staff had been to a Mosque. There was a 20-minute workshop on Islam, to talk about the five pillars and what we believe in, and how it links in with Christianity. Then we had a question and answer session which we call ‘myth-busting’, where there were questions about the hijab, extremism, forced marriages, FGM; whatever they wanted to talk about.

“It was Chatham House rules, and no-one was looking down on anyone else. The Imam was there, we had local people who run diversity groups and we had some ladies who answered the questions around the hijab. I’ve since received a letter from the Chief Operating Officer at the club saying their staff really enjoyed it and appreciated that it just didn’t feel like they were being preached at.

“It went so successfully that they are hoping to maybe bring in some players and first-team staff next time.”

With a similar project in the pipeline with Liverpool FC, Amjid added: “We would like to do similar work with other clubs, if possible. I know that other clubs with safeguarding officers working within educational units are being told they have to do more around extremism and radicalisation.

“We’ve also had contact with The FA, Kick It Out, Show Racism the Red Card and we delivered a workshop to over 500 young people at the final of the Premier League’s Kicks competition in Nottingham, when we talked about radicalisation and extremism.”

The Government’s Prevent strategy, aimed at tackling extremism within schools, has been criticised for causing “suspicion in the classroom”, with the National Union of Teachers saying it has been poorly supported, is difficult to implement and should be scrapped.

Amjid believes one alternative might lie through football clubs and their community foundations. He said: “Teachers are struggling with the Prevent agenda so we go in there as a grassroots organisation with a holistic agenda and say it’s not about marginalising one group of people, it’s about coming together and tackling messages of hate, whether that’s the far right or Daesh. We are very keen to do this with football clubs and the Premier League, and we are designing safeguarding packages.”

Amjid lost his uncle following a racist attack in 2011, the night before an EDL march through Middlesbrough. He died of a heart attack with racist messages found on the mobile phone of the assailant.

It was this experience which led Amjid to work with Teesside University to create Media Cultured, which is a Social Enterprise.

He said: “I wanted to make films as a vehicle to tackle extremism and racism on both sides, to give young Muslims positive role models and to counter the negative messages against Islam.

“So we filmed Imran Naeem, a local boxing coach who runs a gym in Stockton, near Middlesbrough. He was chosen to carry the Olympic torch in the local area. We made the film‘Combinations’ and it was featured in the Guardian and around the world.

“We are also a training and education company, and started to work with Middlesbrough FC after they had an incident when some fans tore up copies of the Koran during a game at Birmingham. They said they wanted to do more than just host the odd event against racism, they wanted to actually work with the communities.

“We have delivered eight sponsored training sessions and trained the football club’s staff in inclusion, diversity and understanding Islam. The club were impressed with the training and the resources which we provided, and said they would like it to branch out into the local community. So they sponsored us to provide eight schools to receive the training for free.

“So we have delivered these and since then we have had local Mosques and faith groups attend free stadium tours. For the game against Everton last season in the League Cup we had the ‘Matchday Experience’. The match was featured on Sky and up to 200 kids attended from local faith groups and from diverse backgrounds and communities. Some of the kids walked out onto the pitch with the players and we did a parade around the ground. It was the first time many of them had been to the football.

“Since then we have staged a charity game at the Riverside when we raised over £10,000. We helped with the day and had the likes of Islamic Relief and other groups involved too. The tagline was ‘Home and Away – Show your support’ so the money raised was divided between refugees suffering in Syria and a local hospital’s renal unit.”

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