This November, the Tackling Antisemitism in Sport project maintained its strong momentum for the 2024/25 season. Early in the month, workshops were delivered to Watford’s U18 and U21 academy squads, where engagement was notably high, with many players having grown up in or near Jewish communities.
The latter half of November saw an increase in activity, starting with a workshop for Staffordshire County FA that addressed challenges specific to grassroots football. U18 academy players at Stoke City, Swindon Town, and Portsmouth also participated in sessions focused on incidents they
might witness or experience on and around the pitch. Additionally, staff from Stoke City benefited from tailored workshops.
A significant milestone was the London regional workshop, held at Stamford Bridge in collaboration with Kick It Out and hosted by Chelsea. This session welcomed representatives from clubs including West Ham United, Crystal Palace, Stevenage, and Bristol Rovers. Attendees represented key roles within their clubs, such as Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), player education, and safety.
Another highlight was the release of survey findings conducted with the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR), which explored experiences of antisemitism in British sport. We were grateful to JPR for presenting the results in detail, allowing us to begin analysing the data. Discussions are now underway with JPR and the Office of Lord Mann on how best to utilise these insights to tackle antisemitism in British sport and beyond.
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