Partners of the Onside Project have carried out local investigations to analyze the current situation in their regions with regards to Racism, Integration, and Amateur Football. The aim of this activity is to develop and share a vision of the local realities of the five European regions involved in the Onside project.
The investigation was implemented so as to collect information on:
- the clubs that partners work with locally to develop and test ONSIDE’s materials and methodologies;
- contemporary issues surrounding race and integration in football in the regions;
- campaigns that exist/have existed locally regarding race, integration, and amateur football.
The preliminary research turned out very interesting offering a wide variety of cases and practices. Three types of clubs were identified:
- Local teams with small/minority/no participation of ethnic minorities;
- Local teams with strong participation of ethnic minorities;
- Local teams created or run with a focus on social inclusion.
Several common issues were identified across the five regions such as noticeable tension surrounding the recent arrival of African immigrants, longer-standing tension and racism towards other groups (Roma/gypsies, Jews, neighbouring countries), an insufficient response by government institutions and authorities and the existence of micro-racism and stereotypes of racial/cultural/ ethnic groups.