Sunderland AFC celebrated a second successful trip to London in as many weeks, after the club was inducted into the Show Racism the Red Card Hall of Fame last week [Mon 2 June].
Taking place at 10 Downing Street in front of a host of special dignitaries, including the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, the event saw representatives from the club join industry colleagues from Arsenal FC, Portsmouth FC and Bolton Wanderers FC, who were also inaugurated into the hall of fame at the ceremony.
Cllr Kelly Chequer, portfolio holder for health, wellbeing and safer communities at Sunderland City Council, had the honour of presenting the club’s representativeness with the award, alongside Show Racism the Red Card’s Honorary President, Shaka Hislop.
Cllr Chequer said: “I’m incredibly proud to have presented this prestigious award to Sunderland AFC on behalf of Show Racism the Red Card.
“Both the club and Sunderland City Council have been unwavering in our support for Show Racism the Red Card and stamping out racism in football over recent years, and this award is testament to all of the work that has been done to raise awareness and to support the efforts of this incredible organisation.
“There is absolutely no room in sport or society for racism, so to see our football club leading the line in the fight to stamp out racism in football is absolutely fantastic. On behalf of every fan, resident and the city as a whole, I would like to say a huge congratulations and thank you to everyone at the club for making this happen. They are an absolute credit to our city.”
Show Racism the Red Card (SRtRC) was founded in January 1996, and the first Hall of Fame event took place over two decades ago. The Hall of Fame was created to honour and thank the patrons who have supported the charity’s mission and helped establish it as the UK’s leading antiracism education charity.
Chief Executive of SRtRC, Ged Grebby said: “As an anti-racism charity we rely on the support of a whole range of organisations and individuals to get our important anti-racism message across. The use of Football Club’s as a venue for our educational events has proved incredibly popular over the last 29 years and the Hall of Fame is a way of thanking the clubs who have made an outstanding contribution to our work. The individuals in the Hall of Fame have given decades of support to our charity and this is our way of saying thank you for their outstanding contributions to anti-racism education”.
Individual awards were also given to Dave Palmer, Charlotte Potts, David O’Leary, Kieron Achara, Terry Angus, Anita Asante, Ben Cajee, Manish Bhasin, Perry Groves, Lisa McLaughlin and Steve Howey.
Shaka Hislop, Honorary President of Show Racism the Red Card said: “As much as we at Show Racism the Red Card have always used football players, their stories and experiences of racism and anti-racism as the foundation of the work we do, none of this would’ve been possible without the support of football clubs. Arsenal, Bolton, Portsmouth and Sunderland Football Clubs have gone above and beyond in not only supporting their players’ efforts, but have added in giving of their facilities, reach and impact in a commitment to not only their fan bases, communities but further to young people in every corner of the UK. Their induction into the Hall of Fame is a fitting tribute to the impact they’ve made on and off the pitch.”