Goals x Kick It Out!

About The Partnership

At Goals our commitment to grassroots football is at the heart of what we do. 

Our partnership with Kick It Out is a collaboration with the aim to serve local communities across England by promoting equality and inclusion within grassroots football.

The partnership will see the anti-discrimination charity collaborate with Goals across several key areas. These include aiding the support and development of Goals referees and working collaboratively to achieve the shared vision of increasing participation in football among underrepresented groups.

Furthermore, as part of the collaboration, we will commit to ensuring a safe environment for all participants by becoming Kick It Out Equality Charter Certified. By pledging to become a Kick It Out Equality Charter organisation, Goals will receive expert support from Kick It Out and learn how to take active steps to tackle discrimination.

So, who are Kick It Out?

Kick It Out is primarily a campaigning organisation that enables, facilitates, and works with the football authorities, professional clubs, players, fans, and communities to tackle all forms of discrimination. The campaign has been pivotal in persuading and supporting the game’s stakeholders to take their equality responsibilities seriously.

Their vision is that football will be a sport where people flourish in a supportive community, and where fairness is openly and transparently practiced and enforced for the good of all participants. Kick It Out advocates on behalf of under-represented and minority communities in football, working to increase their representation in every area of the game – from grassroots to the Premier League, from the pitch to the side-lines, and from the stands to the boardroom. Kick It Out do everything in its power to report incidents of discrimination, educate communities, and mentor a new generation of people in the sport.

Football should be a game for everyone, whether they play it, work in it or support it. But not everyone is welcome. Kick It Out’s mission is to campaign for change to end discrimination and build belonging so that everyone feels they can be a part of a sport that should be for all. 

A shared vision for the future

The announcement comes after the prominent anti-discrimination charity and Goals both identified the need for a major increase in resources to support the growth of football provision for women and underrepresented communities.

To address this need, Goals have committed to offering unused pitch time to these groups to ensure their facilities are open to all. This initiative will be exclusive to Kick It Out Equality Charter clubs to ensure pitches are utilised by community groups who are dedicated to creating an inclusive environment.

The partnership will also see Kick It Out provide equality, diversity, and inclusion education to Goals referees, support referees in pursuit of becoming qualified and help Goals with referee recruitment.

With Goals being the UK’s Premier small-sided football operator with over 100,000 footballers using us each week, we are in an excellent position to drive change and make sure that all participants of the beautiful game are welcomed and respected when visiting a Goals club. We are delighted that we will be playing our part in supporting a superb organisation like Kick it Out, I have total admiration for Tony and his teams’ quest to end all forms of discrimination, and together, we will Kick it Out! Ian McDermott, Managing Director of Goals

"We are delighted to be partnering with Goals as we work towards our shared aim of creating an inclusive and welcoming game for all. We commend Goals commitment to achieving Equality Charter Status as a 5-a-side facilitator, as well as their active steps to support the development of their referees. Grassroots football is at the heart of everything we love about the game and it’s essential that everyone, everywhere can participate knowing they will be welcomed and respected. We believe this partnership is an important step towards creating a more inclusive game for all, and we look forward to working alongside Goals to achieve this ambition.” Tony Burnett Kick It Out CEO.

Contact Kick It Out here to get involved. 

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For partnership opportunities, please contact:

Simon Critchett

Commercial Sales Manager
GOALS
Tel: 01355 340 264
simon@goalsfootball.co.uk

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For media enquiries, please contact:

Corrie Kane-Thom

National Marketing Manager
GOALS
Tel: 01355 340 260
corrie@goalsfootball.co.uk