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It was announced last week that Everton FC had become
the first Premiership club to join EITI's multilingual,
anti-racist hotline campaign for football fans.
The project, which EITI began in November 2004
in partnership with its local club, Goole AFC,
is part of a new community-based approach to tackling
racism in football. (Click here to read more about
this on
Goole AFC's web site.). Everton launched the
hotlines in time for the team's high-profile FA
Cup tie against Manchester United on 19 February
2005. The following news item is taken from Everton
FC's official web site.
Everton have joined forces
with EITI, a multi-lingual translation telephone
service, as they continue with their efforts to
promote racial tolerance and understanding.
The Blues are the first
professional football club to take up the service,
which reflects the growing diversity of football
support in this country.
EITI, provides interpreting
and translation services to a wide range of public
authorities including NHS Trusts and local authorities
and hopes to aim to strengthen the club's relationship
with local communities as well as contributing
to work at a national level related to diversity
and racism.
Everton's Race & Diversity
Manager, Alan Johnson, explained:
"We have a growing fan base that is increasingly
becoming more and more diverse in terms of ethnicity.
“It is essential
that we recognise this and put in place services
that help facilitate and promote the needs of
such diversity. The EITI provision will be rolled
out to clubs up and down the country in the near
future, whilst the FA have also been approached.
“Football is always
evolving, albeit incremental, but nonetheless
it is changing. Many clubs have large multi-cultural
communities on their doorsteps, including Everton,
and by encouraging their participation, either
as staff, players or supporters, we hope to fulfil
our ambition of truly being 'The People's Club'."
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