Richard Luscombe Plymouth Argyle players Brendan Wiredu and Matty Sorinola visited Keyham Barton Primary School this week to deliver a dedicated anti-racism session as part of the Premier League’s ‘No Room For Racism’ campaign.
Argyle Community Trust is proud to be supporting the No Room For Racism campaign. At Argyle we believe that football is a game for everyone, everywhere, and we take pride in the welcoming atmosphere that you create at Home Park every matchday.
Through the Premier League Primary Stars programme we held a dedicated session at the Keyham school and were joined by some very special guests – Argyle first-team players Brendan Wiredu and Matty Sorinola.
Last season there were 141 incidents of racist abuse at EFL grounds across the country and more than 5,000 incidents of online abuse. More are likely to have gone unrecorded.
Argyle Community Trust Premier League Kicks Targeted Officer, Kadus Smith, delivered a theory-based classroom session to the year four and five students: “It is important to have open dialogue about diversity and inclusion, celebrate what makes us different, and look at things that make us the same.
“The purpose of these sessions is to showcase what it means when we are together in solidarity. We can inspire the future and make them a catalyst for change and advocates for a fairer and equal society from a young age.”
The classroom session, led by Kadus, focused on the importance of inclusion and the positive impact people have when different identities are respected. The session concluded with a lively questions and answers session and mini football matches with the Argyle players, to the delight of the students and staff.
Brendan Wiredu stated: “I think its massively important for us to speak to these young people, in the position we are in, as people look up to us. It is important to make sure everyone can dream big, because they are the next generation.”
Matty Sorinola added: “When we were growing up, we didn’t have anything like this, to look up to someone. For us coming in to the school and them seeing us, it gives them inspiration.”
Argyle strives to ensure it is truly reflective of the diverse communities it represents and stands side by side with players, managers, supporters, and the EFL to tackle racism in our game and communities.
If you witness racist or discriminatory abuse, you can report it directly to the Club through Kick It Out, the Club’s reporting mechanisms, or by alerting a steward.
Argyle will take swift and firm action against anyone identified in making racist or discriminatory behaviour, working with the relevant authorities to ensure perpetrators face club sanctions and police action.
Text ARGYLE to 66777 followed by your message and a member of the team will investigate – or, head to kickitout.org/report.
