The Kick Project

Pic: The Daily Mail The long-running problem of "soccer hooliganism" has blighted the game for decades. Once again its been in the news with more idiots who call themselves soccer fans acting like Neanderthals again . While soccer often gets lumped with these morons, it is hardly the game's fault that social tensions come out around such common mob activities such as soccer. The problems are with society and with the prejudices that leaders and others in control either encourage or don't do enough to quell. But, the truth is that soccer does attract thuggish behaviour, if only because it exacerbates mob mentality and allows large groups to get together, get boozed up and coalesce around a common cause via simplistic signals like team chants or colours. It is a recipe for trouble. A new approach , more about being pro-active rather than reactive seem to be finding good results. This adaptation sees security working closely with the fans themselves, most of ...

Perhaps some French bureaucrats have forgotten its the world game. It's not about nationalities and what colours you wear - or are. National rivarly can bring extra juice to any football game. But only if its kept in the right spirit and if it doesnt spill over into actual conflict or abuse. If this French move is true, it's something we need to watch. Especially as it appears at a time when France is spending a lot of time wringing its hand s over how not to accept north African asylum seekers landing on their doorstep. This looks like a political knee-jerk, to pander to some unsavoury attitudes coming out of even major figures in France today. It has no place it today's game. Benefit of the doubt though and let's see how it pans out and whether the real football fan-based kicks up enough about it to quash it.

It was pretty common in the late 1970's and early 1980's for black players in the English leagues to be jeered and to cop monkey calls. The first really big name black players like Viv Anderson, Laurie Cunningham and Luther Blisset took it all and acheived success despite the absence of any legislation or affirmative action type system to give them any favours. Here at the Kick Project, we obviously place great importance on racial equality in football and I greatly admire these players for overcoming the odds purely on the strength of character and talent. They all did a great service not just for football but for society in general. Yet, discrimination still exists and it manifests in many forms throughout society in England, and elsewhere. Gordon Taylor, boss of the English Professional Footballers' Association has called for a program to encourage black managers in the EPL. While its true that there is a shortage of black managers at the top levels, I'm no...

This piece from FC Business provides an insight into some of the racist sledging that passes for competitivness in some football cultures. Possibly an isolated incident - let's hope so - but also be interesting to see how it is dealt with.   "Mon 10th Jan 2011 | Legal Liverpool Football club are embroiled in a racism row said to involve the club’s academy players. It’s alleged that Liverpool’s young academy players subjected Crystal Palace players to a torrent of racial abuse when to clubs met for a FA Youth Cup fourth round tie at Anfield on Saturday. It’s understood that the Football Association will contact Palace today for a full account of what happened and to ascertain whether they intend to make an official complaint. According to the Guardian newspaper, the FA may also ask to speak to Dan Pringle, one of the players involved in a 3-1 defeat for Palace. Pringle expressed his dismay on his Twitter account after the match, saying: "Disappointed with result but ...

Winners of the bid for the 2018 World Cup, Russia, have been given the equivalent on a stud-run down the shinbone as racist nutters in the capital rallied for the bad ol' days in the Red Empire (yeh, I know this is a little old, but I've been on a break...) Not for the first time, football has been used as a popular point of interest or front around which to send all manner of bigoted rubbish, particularly targetting non-white immigrants, students and visitors in Russia, into orbit. How will Russia face this dilemma? Will it allow it all to just simmer away and try and ignore it or will it come down hard, at the risk of alienating some of the government's own support base? They've got 8 years to sort out generations of racism.