“We treat everyone the same, we play fairly and with respect,” was the message from UNISON member James Gregory as his UNISON branch at Thanet council sponsored a Kick Racism out of Football tournament.
The tournament, which was organised by Mr Gregory and his colleague Colin Rouse and supported by the local NHS healthy weight team, Kent fire and rescue service and Thanet leisure force, was not only about “a great day of football”, said Mr Gregory, it was also getting across the message that, “in Thanet, we’ve got a good diverse mix of people and we had a good mix of people playing on the day.”
Thanet UNISON branch secretary Steve Albon said of the 75 participants: “We were all overwhelmed by the amount of children who turned up. Most of the children are from local housing estates, but we even had some from Dover.”
He continued: “Part of my job takes me to some of the most deprived areas of Thanet, one of which is one of the most deprived wards in the country. This area is occupied by a lot of immigrants and underpriviledged children.
“These areas can be the base for racist groups to prey upon and I believe the message needs to go out loud and clear that any kind of discrimination is unacceptable.
“And what better place to start getting that message across than with children. So in a small way, we have put this message out locally.”
Two tournaments took place, one for ages 11-14, won by The Reds, and one for ages 15-18 where Team Name FC took the prize.
The event was also attended by UNISON assistant general secretary Karen Jennings and Labour councillor Iris Johnston. Ms Jennings said: “It was a fantastic day and a great initiative. I was really proud to see how UNISON members were working with kids in the local community.”
