Our Campaign
Soccer in North America has a dynamic and rich history that is multiracial, and embraces the strength that comes with its diversity. The history of soccer in North America is unique from other parts of the world, in that a philosophy of inclusiveness has always been apparent in all of its aspects, including players, supporters, and management.
As soccer continues to grow in the North American continent, it is imperative that each of us take responsibility in ensuring the diverse heritage and culture of the sport continues.
Our campaign strategy at the club level is the development of partnerships that bring together soccer organizations, players, supporters, and communities to work together to preserve opportunity and inclusion in our sport regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, nationality, gender, or sexual orientation. At a national level, the coming together of representative groups (management, players, and supporters) from each club allows the campaign to raise issues from the local level directly with those at the national level.
While our culture and history is one of openness, it is important for each of us to remain vigilante so that racism and others forms of bigotry do not take root as they have in some international leagues. We believe that each of us, whether management, supporter, or player, have the responsibility to draw on the appeal of soccer in North America to help educate our communities, both within and outside of soccer, about the negative effects of racism on society, individuals, and our sport.
The campaign has the following aims in mind:
- Increase players, management, and supporters understanding of the inclusive heritage and diverse culture of soccer in North America.
- To promote young people’s participation as active and responsible citizens in a growing multi-racial and diverse society.
- Provide tools and resources for management, supporters, and players to respond to bigotry in positive ways.
- Harness the high profile of top soccer players as role models to grab the interests of and educate the larger community on issues of inclusion and opportunity.
- Involvement of the leagues and/or teams to adopt anti-racism measures and inclusion of policies and practices, both on the field and in the stands.
- Providing team and league management the tools and framework to be able to swiftly deal with incidents of racist abuse and insults in a uniform manner.
- Showcase the unique strength of soccer in North America, due in part to its diversity.
The continually expanding framework of North American soccer in this early stage of its development offers an opportunity to highlight sportsmanship, diversity, and a stance against bigotry. This framework could be comprised of millions of people, including participants in the incredibly popular American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO), the continually growing local recreation leagues, as well as the fans and players of Major League Soccer (MLS), Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS), and the national teams of North America.
All that is missing is your participation!