SRtRC: Scotland working in partnership with St Mirren FC

Show Racism the Red Card: Scotland has been delighted to work alongside the players and staff of St Mirren FC to have important discussions about race, racism, and anti-racism.

Last week, our education team stopped by St Mirren’s training ground to deliver anti-racism training to the men’s first team, before this week inviting primary school students to the SMISA Stadium to take part in an anti-racism pupil summit alongside players Ryan Flynn and Jonah Ayunga. This work built upon an existing partnership where St Mirren FC have been long standing supporters of SRtRC:Scotland’s anti-racism match actions.

Anti-Racism Workshop – St Mirren Men’s First Team

The workshop with the 1st team encouraged players to deepen their understanding of the topic through discussions facilitated by our anti-racism facilitators. Players from a range of backgrounds contributed throughout the session using their experiences to help one another gain a deeper understanding of how to be actively anti-racist.

Anti-Racism Pupil Summit – Local Primary School Pupils

The students took part in a series of anti-racism workshops to help them to develop a foundational understanding of some of the core concepts of anti-racism. They also undertook an activity on youth leadership and effectively questioning and challenging systems of racism and injustice. To round the day off, there was a Q&A panel with St Mirren players, alongside anti-racism facilitators. During the course of the summit, students also got to go on a stadium tour, meet the players on the panel and take home a goody bag.

In recent months, SRtRC reached the milestone of having had one million people participate in their workshops and this event at St. Mirren represents the start of a journey to reaching the next big milestone, with a new cohort engaging with the charity’s work. The campaign’s programmes across Scotland demonstrated the role education has to play in changing attitudes and making our sport and our society a welcoming and inclusive place.

Chris Priestley who manages the campaign in Scotland and assisted in the delivery of both events shared the following reflection:

“Events such as these, are vital for placing active anti-racism at the heart of football clubs. By working with players, staff, and the community Show Racism the Red Card is able to continue its important work educating everyone to understand and oppose racism. We are extremely grateful to St Mirren for all their support and would particularly like to thank Ryan and Jonah for making the summit such a memorable day for all the young people.”