Pompey have teamed up with Hampshire FA for the fourth season in a row to make this afternoon’s match against Blackpool our annual ‘Respect’ fixture.
The club enjoy a long-standing affiliation with the county FA and are delighted to back their ‘We only do positive’ campaign, aimed at promoting fair play and inclusion across the whole football family – from grassroots to the professional game.
Blues star Dion Donohue took time out after training this week to endorse the initiative when Hampshire FA visited the training ground.
Representatives from the county FA will be in the Victory Lounge between 1pm and 2pm to promote the campaign, while players and officials from both teams will be wearing special t-shirts in the warm-up.
There will also be a special Respect mascot from a local grassroots club – Harry Withers from Jubilee 77 Youth FC. They were the lucky winners of a draw held by Hampshire FA.
Last month, Pompey in the Community hosted a special Respect course for local clubs, run in partnership with the county FA and Kick It Out.
"Hampshire FA is committed to eliminating bad behaviour detrimental to the grassroots game."
Colin Farmery, the club’s head of safeguarding and inclusion said: “The partnership with Hampshire FA is very important to us as a professional football club.
“We recognise the importance of being a standard bearer for ensuring football is both inclusive and that we respect the match officials and our opponents.”
Neil Cassar, Hampshire FA CEO, added: “Hampshire FA is committed to eliminating bad behaviour detrimental to the grassroots game and fully supports and implements The FA’s Respect programme in all areas.
“As a county FA, we have rolled out a series of Respect Education workshops to educate our members, which continue to date and are led by the county FA designated safeguarding officer.
“Additionally, we continue to support The FA’s ‘set your stall out weekend’ – an initiative designed to promote Respect, which sees an appointed youth league deliver a variety of matches that fully endorses the programme with FA Respect banners, touchline barriers, Respect stewards and more, raising awareness and the profile of the programme.”
Click here for more information on the Respect campaign.