LFP & LICRA Launch Jersey-based ‘Football Against Racism & Anti-Semitism #Report!’ Campaign

LFP and the LICRA launched a new jersey in March to spearhead their joint CSR nationwide campaign against racism and antisemitism in French football

The ‘Football Contre Le Racisme Et L’Antisémitisme’ project was a joint venture between LFP (the Professional Football League in France which governs Ligue 1 Uber Eats and Ligue 2 BKT) and LICRA (the International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism which is a French non-profit charity organisation which educates and campaigns against all forms of racism and provides support for victims of racism).

The campaign ran between 18 and 20 March, the 29th day of the Ligue 1 Uber Eats season and on the 30th day of Ligue 2 BKT, and was spearheaded by a nationwide shirt reveal in stadiums throughout France and the launch of a hero video deployed across the LFP and LICRA digital and social platforms, as well as on club channels and via official partner broadcasters and was also shown in grounds across the country.

Plus, on the pitch prior to the games over the weekend, players and referees will pose before the matches around a panel before kick-off bearing the message: ‘Against racism and anti-Semitism #Report’.

Inspired by the frequent launch of new football shirts, the spot (which was posted on 17 March) focuses on the launch of the shirts and features body painting of the kit’s design and characteristics on bodies with various different skin colours. The video carries the tagline: ‘Against racial discrimination, let us defend all colours’ and encourages all fans who either witness or are victims of racist or anti-semitic acts in a stadium to report them on the platform www.licra.org/lfp

The website was initially created in 2019 as a reporting platform for football-linked acts of racial discrimination in stadiums and it offers advice and legal assistance to victims. Reporting such incidents can also be the first step in initiating criminal proceedings against the perpetrator.

⚽️La @LFPfr et la @_LICRA_ lancent une grande campagne pour promouvoir la plateforme de signalement contre le racisme et l'antisémitisme sur les terrains de football. #JouonsLaCollectif
Contre le racisme et l'antisémitisme, #signalez !
En savoir plus : https://t.co/0LaGxRSlLb pic.twitter.com/6jECly7xdQ

— Licra (@_LICRA_) March 17, 2022

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While in the digital and gaming space, EA Sports joined the campaign by revealing a special collector’s edition of the jersey within its world leading FIFA 22 video game. From 18 March, the kit was available for free to all FIFA 2022 players in FIFA Ultimate Team mode.

The campaign was conceived, created and produced in harness with the Rosbeef! Agency.

To further support the campaign, the LFP and the LICRA designed awareness-raising workshops against racism and anti-semitism for three target audiences: professional players, management staff (technical staff, coaches, managers, administrative staff, etc.), as well as supporter groups and these modules are offered to voluntary professional clubs and paid for by the LFP.

“We are happy to partner with the LFP and EA SPORTS to promote the reporting platform and this collector’s jersey to help fight racism and anti-Semitism in stadiums,” said LICRA President Mario Stasi. “The real republican project is the fight against discrimination.”

EA Sports FIFA VP Brand David Jackson added: “EA SPORTS is proud to partner with Licra and the LFP to help combat racism and anti-Semitism by asking fans and communities to step up and report each of these acts. We are happy to include this special kit in FIFA 22 as a way for fans to support this message and show their support.”

Comment

The central, national campaign was supported by a range of initiatives carried out by the clubs themselves – examples of which included:
> AS Saint-Etienne players wore flocked jerseys with the #NoRacism message on the back for their game against ESTAC Troyes.
>RC Lens collaborated with the Jean Zay College to produce videos to raise awareness against discrimination which was broadcast on the club’s social networks., plus 100 children from disadvantaged neighbourhoods were invited to the match.