Give Racism the red card

We hope to decrease the amount of racism that is present on and off the pitch. The main sports we will be focusing on is Soccer/Football as we believe they are the sports where racism is present the most. We will be attending matches for the school team and games in Tralee and hope to make a big change as it affects mental health in the sport.

Our Social Issue

Racism in sports such as discrimination against players or referees of certain ethnic backgrounds.

Why We Chose It

We chose this issue as some members of our YSI group have been affected by racism. We don’t want to stand by and do nothing, we need to stand up and speak out for our friends, peers and team mates who are suffering because of racial abuse.

Our Goal

Our big idea is to create black armbands that sports players will wear on their arms while playing sports to show that at our school we do not tolerate nor engage in racism. We have a passion for sport and want to give each individual the same opportunity regardless of the colour of their skin. We are raising awareness, educating the students in our school and promoting equality for each individual who engages in sport by standing up for them and creating a warm welcome environment where we stand up against discrimination and we support diversity.

Our Innovative Action

We have designed a black armband with our school crest in the middle. This arm-band will be worn by sports players in our school when they engage in school sports. So far we have organised a jersey day where all the students in our school were invited to wear a jersey of their choice and donate money towards our idea and the anti-discrimination organisation SARI.. We have organised with SARI to come to our school to give work-shops over two days to all of our first year cohort.

Our Impact

We hope by raising awareness around our chosen issue that we can help those who suffer from racial abuse. We hope that they will be happy to take part in sporting activities in our school and feel welcomed and accepted for who they are. We believe that our team will show younger years in our school how we can all make a difference and make school a more enjoyable place for everyone. We hope that we can spark important, difficult conversations and combat inequality.