Football
Rob Dawson, Correspondent 3y

Man City, USMNT goalkeeper Steffen joins campaign to end systemic racism

Manchester City and USMNT goalkeeper Zack Steffen is backing a campaign to end systemic racism in soccer across the United States.

The Anti-Racist Project will fund training for players, coaches, fans and executives from grassroots soccer to professional level across the United States.

- Hislop: Football is ideal vehicle to drive social change 
- Stream Show Racism The Red Card on ESPN+
- More to be done than taking the knee - Ferdinand

Created by Common Goal, a social impact collective of which Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata and Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp are members, USMNT No. 1 Steffen said the time for simply talking about the issue of racism is over.

"There's been so much talk over the last months about racism in soccer and beyond and enough is enough; it's time to take action," Steffen said.

"We need to show people how to be anti-racist. I wanted to join this project because it is the kind of collective action necessary to make large-scale change, and I hope that this project will go worldwide and create a new culture of inclusion in as many countries as possible."

Organisers hope to train 5,000 coaches, 60,000 young people and 115 staff in more than 400 communities in the first year.

After rolling out the campaign in the U.S., the Anti-Racist Project is hoping to bring its resources to other countries.

Premier League players have been taking the knee before games since June but Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha has stated his intention to stop because of his belief that it's "not enough."

In addition to Steffen, other participants in the project include three U.S. based clubs: the NWSL's Angel City FC, the Chicago Fire of MLS, and USL Championship side the Oakland Roots. The biggest fan group in the country, the American Outlaws, is also taking part, as is the Sanneh Foundation, a St. Paul, Minnesota-based non-profit run by former U.S. international Tony Sanneh.

"I remember being chased around the field being called the N-word," former USMNT defender Sanneh said. 

"We have made some progress but not enough. Racism takes many forms. Sometimes it's an obvious individual manifestation, but it's also the structural barriers embedded in the game at different levels.

"But the end result is the same -- people of color are excluded from the game. We know what the problem is, now is the time to go and fix it."

^ Back to Top ^