The zero must stand

The district of Waldeck-Frankenberg wants to take stronger action against any kind of violence, racism and discrimination - especially in amateur football. To this end, it has entered into a partnership with the "Fairplay Hessen" initiative of the Hessian Football Association (HFV) and is making a free offer to football clubs: under the motto "The zero must stand", the cooperation partners in Waldeck-Frankenberg want to promote mutual respect on and off the football pitch. Exclusion has no place there, as it does everywhere.

For the project, the district has involved its two specialised services, Social Affairs and Sports and Youth Work, as well as the Network for Tolerance. The project is about networking clubs, raising awareness of the issue and bringing it to the attention of the public. Events are also organised to honour the commitment against racism and violence in amateur football. For the time being, the prevention work will concentrate on the local football clubs because they have the most athletes and the best structures. Later, all clubs that are committed to fair play, equal opportunities and respect in their daily interaction will receive similar offers.

Participation for football clubs is easy. They sign the Charter against Racism in Amateur Football and become members of the "Fairplay Hessen" initiative free of charge. As a result, they receive professional support from the B-youth level onwards in the form of two workshops organised by the Hessian Football Association. These help the clubs to develop their own mission statement against discrimination and violence. In addition to the free workshops, the participating clubs receive match balls, captain's armbands, warm-up shirts, posters, displays, banners or posters expressing fair play. In the future, participating clubs will also appoint contact persons so that incidents can be specifically forwarded to the "Reporting Centre for Violence and Discrimination" at the HFV.