ENOUGH IS ENOUGH CAMPAIGN CONTINUES TO TACKLE HATE ACROSS GRASSROOTS FOOTBALL

The Football Association [The FA] has launched the latest edition of its Enough is Enough campaign, aiming to raise awareness of discriminatory behaviour in grassroots football and the significant consequences that will face perpetrators of hate.

The new campaign places a renewed focus on the games collective responsibility of reporting, encouraging those who see, hear or experience hate to report it, so unacceptable behaviours can be dealt with through tougher sanctions.

Everyone in grassroots football is being encouraged to report hate to protect the game via The FA website, Kick It Out App, County FAs or the match official.

The new campaign will be promoted across England Football channels to raise awareness of the issue of hateful and discriminatory behaviour, educating on the consequences, and signposting to the reporting process.

Delivering a game free of discrimination forms a key part of The FA’s new four-year strategy, ‘Inspiring Positive Change Through Football’, and this season, a number of new measures have been introduced to tackle unacceptable behaviours across grassroots football.

These include new penalty points accumulations, revamped sinbins, continued league points deductions, and a new Grassroots Code of Conduct designed to re-enforce the positive standards of behavior. The interventions form part of the ‘Love Football. Protect The Game’ campaign to introduce enhanced measures and tougher sanctions so that everyone can enjoy the game in a positive and enjoyable environment.

The FA’s Director of Football Development, James Kendall said: "We will always strive to ensure that football should be fun, safe and inclusive for everyone. Whilst the majority of people across grassroots football behave in the right way, unfortunately some participants persist in unacceptable behaviours that ruin the game for others. This behaviour will not be tolerated, and we will not stand for discriminatory abuse and hate in our game. By reporting hate, we can tackle this through stronger sanctions for perpetrators and their clubs, to collectively create a game free from discrimination.”

During the 2023/24 grassroots football season, The FA has tackled serious misconduct with record sanctions, issuing over 2,500 charges. A total of 1,351 charges for discrimination have resulted in bans totalling 5,510 matches, and 1,351 hours of educational courses. The average ban is 7 matches.

The FA’s full Annual Grassroots Discipline Review for 2023/24 season will be published by the end of the year on www.TheFA.com.