LALIGA – one of the biggest football leagues in the world – has kicked off its campaign against racism.
Many African football players, starting with the great Samuel E’to of Cameroon and Yaya Toure of Senegal, have been subjected to racist chants by soccer fans, leading to the start of the campaign.
The campaign started on March 14 and ends on March 21, the World Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The aim of the campaign, launched in partnership with EA SPORTS TM, is to raise awareness of the importance of eradicating racism in all areas of society.
It was created precisely as part of the commitment that both partners have, aware that they are a major influence, especially among the younger generation.
“Putting an end to racism is one of the objectives of LaLiga. We already condemn racist comments that are heard on the pitch and we have just created channels for fans to help us identify and report offenders. This second Week Against Racism helps us to raise awareness in society and to take further steps against racism,” said Javier Tebas, president of LaLiga.
EA SPORTS has joined LaLiga on a mission to unite the football community and condemn racist behaviour. By introducing the bespoke “UNITY” kit, players can showcase their support in-game, said Chris Bruzzo, Chief Experience Officer of EA SPORTS TM.
Boa Mistura, the artistic group Boa Mistura, who created the main axis of the campaign, the word UNITY, has also joined the second Week Against Racism.
“This word symbolises the union of all of us together in the face of racism. The fact that together, by adding our differences, we are much stronger. We are speaking out against something that separates us and we believe that the way to do it is from the opposite direction, from unity. We use the language of overlapping words and typefaces and write the word Unity five times. In this superimposition, we make chromatic variations, which speak of the importance of diversity. It all leads to the word UNITY written in a strong blue colour, which alludes to the fact that in the end, the more people come together for a cause, the stronger that struggle becomes,” explained Pablo Purón, spokesperson for Boa Mistura.
For seven days, online and offline activities will be carried out, which will help to give visibility to the project and thus raise awareness among all fans of sport and art:
LaLiga Santander Matchday 26 and LaLiga SmartBank Matchday 32: During the matches played during this week, there will be different visual materials that seek to sensitize the fans about the campaign. Also, some of LaLiga Santander players will wear the UNITY T-shirts, calling on the LaLiga clubs have joined the campaign to help maximize its global impact. For this reason, players such as Iker Muniain of Athletic Club, José María Giménez of Atlético de Madrid and William Carvalho of Real Betis, among many others, wanted to share with fans their thoughts on how a diverse league is a much stronger and richer league.
The second LaLiga Week Against Racism also comes to the football video game.
And it does so with the same kit that LaLiga players will wear before their matches and Vanity for their stadiums. In this case, players will be able to select the UNITY kit for their teams in FIFA 23, which will be available in-game from March 16.
Social media will also be a stage for this initiative. Fans and clubs are expected to send messages of support for the project and against racism during this period, and together they will contribute to making the project even bigger.
The second LaLiga Week Against Racism is another step in LaLiga's ongoing fight against racism, discrimination and intolerance in football.
One of the measures it is taking is to act as a private prosecutor in all complaints of racist chanting or possible hate crimes that take place at football grounds.
In addition, it has recently set up an email and Telegram channel where fans can get in touch and help facilitate the identification and reporting of those who engage in racist behaviour.
These channels are:
Email: [email protected]
Telegram: StopRacismoLaLiga
