Blues recognised for inclusion and anti-discrimination
Portsmouth Football Club are delighted to announce they are one of the first nine clubs to be awarded the Football League’s Code of Practice standard for Inclusion and Anti-Discrimination.
The Football League’s Code of Practice was introduced as part of a commitment to English football’s Inclusion & Anti-Discrimination Action Plan, which ensures clubs are inclusive across all sections of their business.
This incorporates matchday operations, general operations, community trust, youth development, fans and the first team.
Chief executive Mark Catlin said: “We are delighted to have received this acknowledgment by the Football League of our commitment to making Portsmouth FC an inclusive club that reflects its community.
“We have been making huge strides in this area and the fact this effort has been recognised underpins our view the club is on the right lines.
“We know we still have more to do in this area, but we now have a solid foundation to build on.
“Colin Farmery has done a great job leading this initiative and he has had the full backing of the board, club staff and other stakeholders in his efforts from day one.”
Colin is the club’s head of safeguarding and inclusion and an FA tutor and is currently rolling out an inclusion training programme to club staff, club and PST board members, presidents and Pompey in the Community staff.
Working with PitC and the PST, the club have given high profile backing to a number of inclusion initiatives, including Kick It Out, Football v Homophobia, Level Playing Field and Women In Football.
Ashley Brown, chair of the PST and the club director with responsibility for this area, added: “We are very proud of this award and it is a tribute to all the staff who have put in place an inclusive culture at Pompey we want to develop further. Club secretary Anabel Roman in particular has also put in a huge amount of work to support Colin.
“The award is a recognition of the huge amount of high-quality work Pompey in the Community do reaching out to various groups in the city who are under-represented in football.”
Shaun Harvey, chief executive of The Football League said: “The Football League is dedicated to ensuring that football is inclusive of all communities and free from discrimination.
“We recognise that great strides have been made in this area, but there is still more to do. Further uptake of the Code of Practice in 2016 will ensure individuals, clubs and the League as a whole benefit from increased inclusion.”
At the end of year one, eight other Football League clubs along with Pompey have been assessed as meeting the Code of Practice foundation level, setting the benchmark for others to follow. The others are:
- Bolton Wanderers
- Middlesbrough
- Blackburn Rovers
- Sheffield United
- Peterborough United
- Southend United
- Crewe Alexandra
- Exeter City
Each club successfully passed an independent assessment across 12 areas of operation, ensuring good practice extends to all employees, spectators and other people engaged with the club.
The Code of Practice embeds inclusion and equality throughout the whole club, setting accountability at the highest level.
In phase two, the nine clubs that have reached the Code of Practice foundation level will become mentors to a further 30 Football League clubs that will be assessed in 2016.