#SRtRCSpotlight: Celebrating 2024’s Month of Action in Wales
This October, football in Wales has come together with a powerful show of solidarity against racism, marking 2024’s Show Racism the Red Card (SRtRC) Month of Action #MOACymru24. With more than 280 clubs, 2,700 teams and over 35,000 players participating, the initiative has had an inspiring impact across the nation.
The Month of Action aims to raise awareness and encourage professional and grassroots clubs across Wales to stand up and showcase their club’s stance as being actively anti-racist.
The designated Month of Action match took place across all JD Cymru Premier League fixtures over the weekend of October 4-6. The Adran Premier League also joined with a special game on October 27. SRtRC Campaign Manager Dean Pymble was interviewed by Sgorio and Eat Sleep Media at halftime during the Swansea City vs Cardiff City Women’s game and the Men’s Wales Under-21’s match against Czechia helped reinforce the message, reaching supporters directly and reminding everyone of the importance of anti-racism efforts within the sport.
Campaign Manager for Wales Dean Pymble said:
“Thank you to all the players, coaches, and supporters who participated in Month of Action 2024. Your dedication to promoting anti-racism and equality within your clubs has been truly inspiring. A special thanks to the players who proudly wore SRTRC shirts during warm-ups across Welsh football to share our anti-racism message. Together, we can work towards creating a more inclusive and united community both on and off the field!”
During the month, SRtRC has delivered education to Ely Rangers’ coaches and senior players, who discussed the realities of racism and how they can embed anti-racism within their club culture. These sessions are a testament to the importance of education in fostering a more inclusive environment for everyone in football.
Nick Aiston Ely Rangers Head of Development, said:
“The workshops were well delivered, thought-provoking and got everyone who attended thinking about how racism impacts players, staff and volunteers at our club.
Education is key to removing racism in football, sport and society as a multi diverse and cultural club we will continue to do our best to support the work of Show Racism the Red Card.”
The professional and international teams across Wales showed their support for the month of action by wearing SRTRC warm-up shirts at the following fixtures.
Wrexham Player, Arthur Okonkwo – Wrexham vs. Northampton Town on October 5th
Wales Player, Sorba Thomas – Wales Men’s match on October 14th
Wales Player, Lois Joel – Wales Women on October 29th
Newport County Player, Nick Townsend – Newport County vs. Chesterfield on October 18th
Cardiff Players, Chris Willock and Yakou Meite – Cardiff City vs. Portsmouth on October 22nd
Swansea City Players, Ronald and Goncalo Franco – Swansea City vs. Millwall on October 26th
It was fantastic to see Wrexham AFC asked for all their fans to wear red for a Wear Red Day-designated fixture against Huddersfield and sharing a strong message on anti-racism:
https://x.com/Wrexham_AFC/status/1848747288643948838
https://x.com/Wrexham_AFC/status/1848761493912719551
In collaboration with the Swansea City Foundation, young people gathered to discuss and brainstorm actionable ideas to tackle racism. This “Changemakers” event encouraged students to come up with a way of making their school and community more, which they later presented to a judging panel that included the Foundation’s Director, Paul France, and club ambassador Lee Trundle.
Speaking on the event’s significance, Lee Trundle noted:
“It’s great doing it in a project [anti-racism work] as you got them to think about it rather than just a message about racism, they are thinking about how they can stop it how can they make it better some of the things they deliver to us today were brilliant ideas.”
Throughout the day, pupils were joined in the workshops by players from Swansea’s Under 18s team. Swansea City Under 18s player, Billy Clarke, said:
“It’s very important to tell them [children and young people] when they are young as that’s when they are still learning it big for them to know that it [racism] still happens.”
https://x.com/SwansFdn/status/1848381072456950219
The 2024 Show Racism the Red Card Month of Action is a reminder of the power of unity in the face of prejudice and discrimination. Through collective action on the pitch and off, the football community in Wales is making strides toward a more inclusive future for all.