Racism in football remains a pervasive issue, casting a shadow over the sport’s unifying spirit. Recent incidents, such as the derogatory chants from Argentina players towards French players during the Copa America 2024, highlight the ongoing battle against discrimination (ITVX) (The Independent).
At Fanswaves, we are committed to using technology and community initiatives to combat racism and create a safe, inclusive environment for all fans.
Existing Anti-Racism Initiatives in Football
FC Bruges’ QR Code System
FC Bruges has implemented a pioneering initiative to combat racism within its stadium. The club installed 24,000 QR codes on the seats of the Jan Breydel Stadium, allowing fans to report racist incidents in real-time. By simply scanning the QR code, attendees can anonymously submit reports, which are then directed to the club’s security team for immediate action.
This innovative approach provides an immediate and anonymous way for fans to report misconduct, promoting a proactive stance against racism. The system’s success relies on widespread awareness and usage among fans. The initiative highlights the importance of leveraging technology to create safer, more inclusive environments in sports venues.
EFL’s ‘Together Against Racism’
The English Football League (EFL) launched the ‘Together Against Racism‘ campaign to encourage fans to report racist incidents through an app, website, or social media platforms. This campaign, in collaboration with the organization Kick It Out, aims to break down barriers to reporting and ensure consistent messaging across all clubs.
The EFL’s initiative focuses on education and awareness (like Lilian Thuram foundation), promoting the importance of reporting and addressing racist behavior. It involves training sessions, workshops, and promotional materials distributed to clubs and fans. The collaboration with Kick It Out enhances the campaign’s credibility and reach, ensuring a robust response to racism at all levels of football.).
Premier League’s Initiatives
The Premier League has implemented a comprehensive strategy to combat racism and discrimination. This includes stadium bans for individuals found guilty of racist behavior, legal actions, and restorative justice measures. The Premier League also supports the Online Safety Bill, aimed at combating online abuse, and runs educational initiatives to raise awareness about racism in football.
These efforts are part of a broader commitment to creating a zero-tolerance environment for racism. The Premier League works closely with clubs, players, and fans to ensure that discriminatory behavior is addressed swiftly and effectively. The integration of legal consequences and educational programs underscores the league’s holistic approach to tackling racism.
The French Initiative: LICRA and LFP
The French initiative between the Ligue Internationale Contre le Racisme et l’Antisémitisme (LICRA) and the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) is a noteworthy effort to combat racism in football. This partnership, known as “LFP-LICRA Signalements” aims to create a more inclusive and respectful environment in French football.
Fans and participants can report incidents of racism and discrimination through a dedicated platform. The reports are reviewed and addressed by the relevant authorities to ensure appropriate action is taken.
The initiative has been successful in creating a more robust reporting system and has led to increased awareness and actions against racist behavior in French football. The LFP and LICRA regularly conduct educational campaigns to promote inclusivity and combat discrimination in sports.
UEFA’s Respect Campaign
UEFA’s Respect campaign is a key initiative aimed at promoting inclusion and combating racism across European football. The campaign includes educational programs, sanctions for discriminatory behavior, and widespread promotional efforts during UEFA competitions. Despite its wide reach, the challenge lies in ensuring consistent application and compliance at the local club level.
The Respect campaign is complemented by other UEFA initiatives, such as the FootbALL campaign and the OUTRAGED documentary series, which aim to educate and raise awareness about racism in football. UEFA’s commitment to combating discrimination is evident in its continuous efforts to implement and enforce these programs across Europe.
SOME GOOD INITIATIVES. BUT… WE STILL FACE HATE AGAIN AND AGAIN.
Fanswaves’ Approach to Combating Racism
Real-Time Reporting Tool
Fanswaves plans to implement a real-time reporting feature within our app, similar to FC Bruges’ QR code system. This tool will allow users to report racist incidents during events, ensuring immediate action and accountability.
Educational Campaigns
We will explore a partnership with organizations such as Kick It Out or the Lilian Thuram Foundation to encourage educational campaigns directly through the app. These campaigns will include informative content, video messages from players, and interactive modules on the importance of combating racism starting buy stadiums and sports events.
Community Moderation and Support
Fanswaves will create a community moderation system where trusted users can help manage and review reports of discrimination. We will also provide support services for victims, offering resources and assistance directly through the app.
We want to facilitate support for victims through technology, providing resources and assistance directly via the app.
Collaborations and Partnerships
By collaborating with football clubs, event organizers, and anti-discrimination NGOs, Fanswaves will amplify efforts to combat racism. This includes integrating with existing reporting systems and promoting joint initiatives.
Data-Driven Insights
Using data analytics, Fanswaves will identify trends and hotspots of discriminatory behavior. We will share these insights with clubs and authorities to take preventive measures and tailor interventions effectively.
The Map of Shame : A Collaborative Initiative
In the fight against racism, visibility is crucial. Fanswaves is launching a Google Map (MyMap) collaborative initiative called “The Stadiums Map of Shame,” allowing fans to add their testimonies of racism and discrimination experienced in stadiums or during sports events.
This visual tool aims to motivate authorities, institutions, and clubs to create safer environments for all fans. All together to beat a noisy minority.
Your voice matters Let’s fuel the Shame Map together to expose discrimination and demand change !
Each testimony makes the issues visible and impossible to ignore.
By speaking out, we strengthen our leverage on clubs and administrations for a football free of racism.
Participating gives Fanswaves the power to act and raise awareness.
A stadium, city, or region frequently mentioned becomes a target for boycotts by fans, merchandise bans, and limited visibility on our platform.
Together, let’s make football a safe and inclusive space for everyone.
Please add your testimonies on this map to contribute to a better experience in stadiums through this form : https://tally.so/r/mDe9jp
Explore our use cases and learn how Fanswaves is making a difference step by step.
Leveraging Advanced Technologies to Combat Racism
AI and Natural Language Processing
Fanswaves plans to utilize Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to combat racism and discrimination in football. AI, particularly NLP, involves the ability of computers to understand, interpret, and generate human language. This technology can analyze vast amounts of data from social media, forums, and other online platforms to identify hate speech and racist comments in real-time.
How it works
NLP algorithms scan text for specific keywords, phrases, and contexts that indicate hate speech or discriminatory language. By using sentiment analysis, these algorithms can also detect the tone and emotional undertones of the messages, distinguishing between benign and harmful content. For example, if a message contains discriminatory language directed at a player or another member of the platform, the NLP system can flag it for further review.
Key Features
- Real-Time Monitoring : Continuously scans social media and forums to detect and flag racist content as it appears.
- Contextual Analysis: Understands the context in which certain words or phrases are used to reduce false positives.
- Sentiment Analysis : Measures the sentiment behind messages to determine if they are positive, neutral, or negative.
Benefits
- Swift Identification : Enables quick detection of discriminatory behavior, allowing for immediate intervention.
- Data-Driven Insights : Provides valuable data on trends and patterns in online racism, helping clubs and authorities take preventive measures.
Examples
The English Premier League employs AI technologies to monitor social media platforms for abusive language directed at players, ensuring that offending content is quickly identified and addressed. This proactive approach is part of their broader strategy to combat racism in football (Sports Business Journal) (TicketNews).
Overview of AXONE Technology uses by ourone of our partner
AXONE by OKP4 is a cutting-edge framework that combines AI and secure data management to provide advanced solutions for various applications, including ticketing systems. Here’s a detailed analysis of its components and how they can be leveraged to combat discrimination in football :
Opportunities for Football Clubs to Fight Discrimination with AI and NLP
- Automated Detection and Reporting : U sing AI and NLP, clubs can monitor social media and other communication channels for discriminatory language. These tools can automatically flag and report inappropriate content, ensuring quick action against offenders.
- Enhanced Ticketing Systems : AXONE’s AI-driven framework can be integrated into ticketing systems to identify and manage blacklisted individuals. By using anonymized data, the system can prevent known offenders from entering stadiums without revealing their identities to the staff.
- Data Privacy and Security : The use of blockchain ensures that all data is securely stored and managed, preventing unauthorized access and tampering. This is crucial for maintaining the integrity of the system and protecting the privacy of individuals.
- Scalable Solutions : AXONE’s decentralized architecture allows football clubs to scale their anti-discrimination efforts across multiple venues and events, ensuring consistent application of policies.
- Collaboration and Data Sharing : Clubs can collaborate with each other and share data on known offenders securely. This collective approach can enhance the effectiveness of anti-discrimination measures across the league.
Facial Recognition and Surveillance
Facial recognition technology offers a powerful tool for identifying individuals involved in racist incidents within stadiums. This technology uses advanced algorithms to compare facial features captured by cameras with a database of known individuals.
How it works
High-resolution cameras installed in stadiums capture images of spectators. These images are then processed by facial recognition software that matches them against a pre-existing database of individuals who have been previously banned or flagged for discriminatory behavior.
Key Features
- Real-Time Identification : Quickly identifies individuals involved in racist behavior during events.
- Behavioral Analysis : Analyzes crowd behavior to detect potential issues before they escalate.
- Automated Alerts : Sends immediate alerts to security personnel when a match is found.
Benefits
- Immediate Action : Enables security teams to respond swiftly to incidents of racism, preventing further escalation.
- Long-Term Solutions : Helps maintain a database of offenders, deterring future incidents by tracking known troublemakers.
Examples
Football clubs such as Manchester City, Brøndby and FC Valencia have adopted facial recognition technology to enhance security and reduce incidents of racism in their stadiums. This technology allows for real-time identification and intervention, ensuring that banned individuals are prevented from entering stadiums (Coopers Stadium).
Le’ts focus on how Valencia CF, English Premier League and South Wale Police tried to track and manage reports of discrimination and enhance overall security measures.
- Valencia CF : The Spanish LaLiga team Valencia CF partnered with biometrics company FacePhi to deploy facial recognition technology at their Mestalla stadium. The technology aims to streamline entry processes and enhance security by allowing fans to register via the club’s app, which then uses facial recognition for stadium access. This initiative is part of a broader push to improve fan experience and stadium security (The Stadium Business).
- Premier League and Other Matches : The Metropolitan Police in London used live facial recognition technology at a Premier League match between Arsenal and Tottenham. This deployment led to the arrest of individuals on a watchlist, including those with football banning orders. The technology aims to quickly and accurately identify offenders and enhance security at large events (Evening Standard).
- South Wales Police : Facial recognition technology was used at a tie between Cardiff City and Swansea City to monitor fans and prevent disorder. This move, while controversial, demonstrates the growing interest in using such technology to maintain safety and order at football matches. Similar deployments have been reported across Europe, including in Italy with clubs like AS Roma and SS Lazio (Football Supporters Europe –).
These examples illustrate how facial recognition technology is being leveraged in the sports sector to enhance security, manage crowd control, and potentially address issues of discrimination by identifying individuals banned for previous misconduct. However, the use of this technology also raises concerns about privacy, accuracy, and potential bias, which have been highlighted by various civil liberties organizations.
Blockchain for Transparency
Blockchain technology offers a secure and transparent way to record incidents of racism and the corresponding actions taken. A blockchain is a decentralized ledger that records transactions across many computers, ensuring that the records cannot be altered retroactively.
How it works
When an incident of racism is reported, the details are recorded on a blockchain ledger. Each entry is time-stamped and linked to previous entries, creating an unchangeable chain of records. This ensures that all reports and actions taken are transparent and verifiable.
Key Features
- Immutable Records : Ensures that once data is entered, it cannot be altered or deleted.
- Decentralized Verification : Allows multiple stakeholders to verify the data, enhancing trust.
- Secure Data Storage : Protects sensitive information from tampering and unauthorized access.
Benefits
- Enhanced Trust : Builds trust among fans, clubs, and authorities by ensuring transparency in handling incidents.
- Deterrence : Acts as a deterrent for potential offenders who know that their actions will be permanently recorded.
Examples
UEFA has explored using blockchain technology to track and manage reports of discrimination, ensuring that all incidents are transparently recorded and addressed. This approach helps build trust and ensures accountability in the fight against racism in football.
UEFA has been exploring the use of blockchain technology to enhance the management and tracking of discrimination reports, aiming to leverage the technology’s transparency, security, and immutability features. This initiative is part of a broader trend where various sectors, including sports, are utilizing blockchain for better data management and operational efficiency.
One notable implementation of blockchain by UEFA was during the Euro 2020 tournament, where they used blockchain-enabled mobile ticketing to manage ticket distribution and enhance security. This system allowed real-time tracking of ticket usage and crowd management, showcasing the potential of blockchain in handling large-scale event logistics (TheTicketingBusiness News) (MDPI).
Additionally, blockchain technology has been highlighted for its potential to improve transparency and trust in various applications, including the public sector. It can create immutable records that are easily auditable and secure, which is particularly useful in sensitive areas such as discrimination reporting and management (McKinsey & Company) (IBM – United States).
Conclusion
Fanswaves is dedicated to creating a safe, inclusive environment for all football fans. By implementing advanced technological solutions and fostering community collaboration, we aim to eradicate racism from stadiums and sports events. Join us in this mission by downloading our app and participating in our initiatives.
Fanswaves is proud to have received the Janus de l’Expérience Digitale 2024, validating our commitment to innovation and inclusive user experiences. Learn more about this prestigious award here.
Join our movement to combat racism in football. Contribute to “The Map of Shame” and help create a safer environment for all fans. Add your testimonies here.
