Racism Breaks the Game
Encyclopedia
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
, O Rasismo Rimol o Khel in Romani
Romani language
Romani or Romany, Gypsy or Gipsy is any of several languages of the Romani people. They are Indic, sometimes classified in the "Central" or "Northwestern" zone, and sometimes treated as a branch of their own....
) was a three-day campaign in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
designed to combat racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
in association football, particularly against the Romani minority, as well as to "stimulate social dialogue and promote tolerance and fair-play through football". The campaign, which took place between October 27 and 29, 2006, was a joint effort between the Romanian Football Federation
Romanian Football Federation
The Romanian Football Federation is the governing body of football in Romania. It organizes the Romania national football team and most of the Romanian football competitions. It is based in the Romanian capital city of Bucharest...
, the National Council for Combating Discrimination
National Council for Combating Discrimination
The National Council for Combating Discrimination is an agency of the Romanian government, established in 2001 and responsible for applying Romanian and European Union anti-discrimination laws and managing the National Anti-Discrimination Plan. The legal status of the CNCD was established by the...
, the Open Society Institute
Open Society Institute
The Open Society Institute , renamed in 2011 to Open Society Foundations, is a private operating and grantmaking foundation started by George Soros, aimed to shape public policy to promote democratic governance, human rights, and economic, legal, and social reform...
in Romania, the Romanian Agency for Press Monitoring and the European Roma Grassroots Organisation.
Racism Breaks the Game was organised as part of the pan-European Week Against Racism in Football as a whole, an initiative of the Football Against Racism in Europe
Football Against Racism in Europe
Football Against Racism in Europe is a network set up to counter "racism and xenophobia" in European Football. The network was set up in Vienna, Austria, in February 1999 after a meeting of football supporters' groups, football players' unions and football associations...
organisation. It was also part of the Decade of Roma Inclusion
Decade of Roma Inclusion
The Decade of Roma Inclusion is an initiative of 12 European countries to improve the socio-economic status and social inclusion of the Romani minority across the region...
, a ten-year initiative to improve the situation of the Roma people in eight European countries.
Activities
Several activities and events were held as part of the Racism Breaks the Game campaign. For example, a Football Cup against Racism was organised between the teams in Romania's Liga 1 (premier league). The tournament consisted of nine games, and all players and referees wore T-shirts with the campaign slogan Rasismul strică fotbalul, which was also displayed on banners at the stadiums. The matches were televised alongside a short discussion about the nature of racism in sport and reached an estimated audience of 2.3 million viewers. Approximately 130,000 people also watched the matches live.Additionally, a football tournament titled "Football against Racism" was held for children under 16 years of age, which involved approximately 200,000 people, including players from Bucharest's best-known children's teams. This event was featured in Gazeta Sporturilor
Gazeta Sporturilor
Gazeta Sporturilor is a daily newspaper in Romania, and the country's largest and most read sports-related publication...
, Romania's largest sports publication, whose front page included a photograph of a young Romani player, as well as of famous black players and their contribution to football. The campaign also received broad coverage in Romania's media.
External links
- Article on Racism Breaks the Game at Dzeno, a Roma rights association Racism Breaks the Game page at the National Council for Combating Discrimination
- Photographs of Racism Breaks the Game shirts and banners at European Roma Grassroots Organisation's site
