This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Football tackles racism
05/09/2003
Scotlandis all the richer for embracing and
fostering the talents and skills of players and coaches
from all communities, according to Sports Minister Frank
McAveety
Speaking ahead of the UK Asian Football
Championship final which is being held atCelticParkthis Sunday, Mr McAveety, Minister for
Tourism, Culture and Sport said:
"By using popular sports such as
football, awareness will be raised in young people
acrossScotlandto combat racism in all its forms and
break down cultural barriers.Scotlandwill be all the better for making sport
available to everyone, including its ethnic
minorities.
"Scotlandis committed to being a modern,
welcoming and open nation that encourages and benefits from
the talents of all who live here. Each of us has a role in
tackling prejudice and discrimination, and by supporting
and promoting events like this, we will tackle that
prejudice and discrimination head on.
"The Executive's "One Scotland, Many
Cultures" campaign demonstrates our commitment to
stamping out racism in all of its ugly forms. We are
also committed, through our partners in
sportscotland, to eliminate
discrimination of all kinds in sport, and alongside
other positive initiatives like "Show Racism the Red
Card", we will ensure more young people regardless of
ethnic background have more opportunities to play more
sport in Scotland.
"This occasion will highlight that
participation in sports like football is becoming more
and more popular in ethnic minorities, and we must
nurture new talent and provide opportunities for that
talent to flourish".
The Executive, through their Equality Unit, has
contributed £4,000 towards the cost of staging this event
to promote the "One Scotland Many Cultures"
campaign. This campaign is committed to promoting
equality of opportunity for all and to raising public
awareness of racist attitudes and behaviour and the
negative impact this has on individuals and society more
generally.
The campaign also aims to celebrate the
positive aspects of multi-cultural society in Scotland.
The Executive also recently announced
funding of £75,000 over the next 3 years to enable "Show
Racism the Red Card" to further develop their work in
Scotland. Show Racism the Red Card is a GB-wide anti-racist
charity which aims to combat racism through using
footballers as anti racist role models.
It specialises in producing educational
resources including videos, CD ROM, and posters.
sportscotland is currently developing a
comprehensive equity strategy for sport in Scotland to
address issues such as race, ethnicity and sport; faith,
religion and sport.
sportscotland has been forming links with
a range of race and ethnicity groups who positively promote
participation of minority race and ethnic groups
.
Scottish Asian Sports Association, in
partnership with Glasgow City Council and other sponsors,
are staging the UK Asian Football Championships, their
flagship event, in Glasgow.
This year's competition will be over three
days where teams from all over UK will compete to reach the
final being held at Celtic Park on Sunday 7 September. It
is the largest football event of its kind in the UK.
The Glasgow Anti-Racist Alliance expect a
crowd of about 10,000 to attend.