GRAND HONOUR
QPR attended the 'Kick It Out' reception at the house of Lords yesterday and joined an elite group in football.
Having achieved the Racial Equality Standard award, Community Scheme Manager Andy Evans and Football Development Officer Martino Chevannes, were joined by Chairman Gianni Paladini, Chief Operating Officer Graham Mackrell and Club Secretary Sheila Marson to be presented with the award.
Only 12 clubs have reached the preliminary level of the Racial Equality Standard, eight of which are Premiership outfits.
Of those 12, only one team, Manchester City, have gone on to achieve intermediate level status - an ambition that everyone at QPR is now fully committed to achieving.
Andy Evans said: \"It was a great honour to have the broad range of our community work recognised.
\"It also shows that as a club we are committed to ensuring that we are open and accessible to everyone in the west London area.
\"Achieving the award was a club effort. All departments contributed and now the hard work starts all over again in a bid to achieve the intermediate level.\"
Lord Herman Ouseley hosted the event and all of the big governing bodies including the FA, Football League, Premier League and PFA were in attendance.
Lord Ouseley, Chair of Kick It Out, said: \"Professional football clubs, players and supporters have been striving to play their part in campaigning to tackle racism in football for a decade. Our achievements so far should make us proud but they also provide stimulus for tackling exclusion and inequality.
\"We believe the Standard could herald a new era in encouraging clubs to ensure that off the field of play equality of opportunity, inclusion and fair treatment are at the heart of what they do.\"
Racial Equality Standard for Professional Clubs
What is it?
The Standard is a framework document setting out a series of measures that supports the development of racial equality practices and policies within a club environment.
Professional clubs are asked to work to a series of objectives that ensure equality in all areas of their operation - from stewarding, to the recruitment of administration staff and the development of young players.
Developed by Kick It Out, with the support of the FA Premier League, and from source materials including Sporting Equal's Achieving Racial Equality: A Standard for Sport.
How do clubs achieve it?
The Standard has three levels of achievement - Preliminary, Intermediate and Advanced. Each club will begin by working towards the Preliminary Level followed by Intermediate and Advanced.
There are three areas of activity that cover all areas of a clubs activity - Stadium and Outreach, Policy and Planning, and Administration and Management. Within each area a number of objectives need to be met.
What is the process?
To achieve each level of the Standard, our Development Officer will work with clubs to support them in gathering evidence that address each objective at that level. This is a facilitative process that ensures that every club is supported at every step. Once the evidence is compiled, the file is submitted for consideration by an independent Accreditation Panel.
The Accreditation Panel includes specialists in race and equality, organisational development and sports administration. Chaired by Lord Herman Ouseley, the other members are: Mike Lee, CEO of Vero communications and former Communications Director for London 2012; Jonathan Long, Director of the Centre for Leisure and Sports Research at Leeds Metropolitan University; and Sheila Rogers, independent consultant and former CEO at the Commission for Racial Equality.
What will be the impact?
The Racial Equality Standard is a tool that can support clubs in their journey towards racial equality and help build long-term foundations for sustainable club and community development. Football has the power to engage all communities and this document will encourage clubs to expand and extend existing partnerships.
As a framework it will ensure processes are in place to address the under-representation of ethnic minority groups within all levels of the club environment and bring with it a business advantage. There are a number of long term benefits that can be drawn from working on the Racial Equality Standard, including:
- Improvements in local perceptions
- Better consultation and more participation from the local community in club activities
- Increase in numbers of ethnic minority supporters and representation at all levels of the club
In terms of policy and organisational developments, it will bring advantages to employment functions including:
- Better targeting of policy and marketing strategies
- Attract able staff who will in time reflect the local community
- Identify and develop good practice
- Avoid claims of unlawful discrimination
Racial equality practices will convey a diversity of ideas and experiences that we hope will ensure success both on and off the field.
Who has already achieved it?
All Premier League clubs are currently working towards meeting the Preliminary Level objectives, with many working to the Intermediate Level. All 72 Football League clubs have now officially been invited to work towards the Racial Equality Standard, with at least four achieving the preliminary level.
The clubs that have achieved the preliminary level are:
Blackburn Rovers FC February 2005
Everton FC May 2005
Manchester City FC May 2005
Birmingham City FC September 2005
Fulham FC September 2005
Notts County FC September 2005
Arsenal FC January 2006
Charlton Athletic FC January 2006
Leicester City FC January 2006
Liverpool FC January 2006
Aston Villa FC May 2006
Bolton Wanderers FC May 2006
Manchester United FC May 2006
Port Vale FC May 2006
Newcastle United FC September 2006
QPR FC September 2006
The first to achieve the Intermediate Level is:
Manchester City FC September 2006
