Refugee and migrant rights organisation Doras launches Toolkit to combat racism in sport

Doras sports racism toolkit – pictured at the launch above are representatives from civil society and sport sectors in Ireland

Doras sports racism toolkit was launched as part of EU-funded project SCORE, Sporting Cities Opposing Racism in Europe

Limerick-based migrant and refugee organisation Doras launched a toolkit for local authorities, government bodies and community organisations to combat racism in and through sports.

The toolkit was launched as part of EU-funded project SCORE, Sporting Cities Opposing Racism in Europe. The project, which has 12 partners across Europe, aims to build a coalition of European cities and local entities dedicated to inclusive sports and the prevention of racism, in order to promote sports as a tool to foster social inclusion.

Speaking at the launch of the toolkit in Limerick this week, Fahmeda Naheed, SCORE Project Coordinator at Doras, said, “The toolkit outlines concrete actions that can be taken through sport to combat racism at individual, community and structural level. Overcoming financial barriers such as the cost of club membership and access to facilities are highlighted as critical, as well as a sporting organisation’s ethos and the presence of role models for those from under-represented backgrounds are essential.”

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The launch counted with the presence of representatives from civil society and sport sectors in Ireland, including Limerick Sports Partnership, Sports Against Racism Ireland (SARI), Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland (MASI), Black and Irish, Paul Partnership, Simon Community, Limerick GAA, Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board, University of Limerick Equality and Diversity Unit and Limerick and Cork City Councils.

One of the panellists, Leitrim Hurler Zak Moradi, spoke about his experience as an Irish-Kurd person of colour, of being part of GAA and how that connection has been essential throughout his professional and personal life. He said, “My heart is Irish but by blood is Kurdish.”

Former football player for Ireland, Jackie McCarthy, who was also on the panel, said, “As a woman of colour, I have faced many barriers in sport in Ireland. When someone says to me that I’m not Irish, I ask them, how many times have they represented Ireland internationally?”

Amina Moustafa, Director of Development at SARI (Sports Against Racism Ireland), said, “Sport has the power to be a tool for change. It can change people’s perception of others’ cultures and backgrounds and brings people together.” SARI visits Direct Provision centres across Ireland to deliver sports programmes to children who otherwise wouldn’t have easy access to it.

Co-founder of the Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland (MASI), Lucky Khambule, said, “Sport is one of the means we have to combat far-right divisiveness and discrimination. The solutions to combat racism are in our communities, through the people working on the ground. Fighting racism is not a tick-box exercise.”

The toolkit highlights how greater levels of sports participation and physical activity lead to greater overall well-being and strengthen social bonds between individuals and communities.