Children are saying “No” to violence and racism

More than 250 children attended the football match on Saturday

Policy Center for Roma and Minorities together with the Romanian Football Federation organized on November 13^th, their bi-annual  football competition for children in Bucharest. The football tournament, in which 23 teams with more than 250 children aged between 9 and 11 participated, is a part of the “ REACT! Make Europe an equal place for Roma” campaign.  The Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) is a partner in this initiative.

This is the 9^th tournament our organization and the Romanian Football Federation  organized in the last years, focused on curbing violence and racism on football stadiums. The Saturday event was carried out under the “ Love football! No racism! No violence! slogan and was attended by more than 1000 supporters.

The tournament offers children a chance to play football in one of the best available facilities in Bucharest  while promoting a strong message about the importance of fair-play, social inclusion and responsible citizenship. The love for football is not compatible with racism or with violence,  is the message promoted by The Romanian Football Federation, Policy Center for Roma and Minorities, Football Against Racism in Europe and The European Commission through the campaign “ REACT! Make Europe an equal place for Roma” .

The Italian and Romanian football federations  will promote again this message during the friendly football match between Italy and Romania which will take place today  on November 17th, in Klagenfurt, Austria.