Sky Sports and Kick It Out Renew Their Partnership

Sky Sports and Kick It Out have reaffirmed their commitment to promoting inclusivity in football by extending their partnership for an additional year. This renewed collaboration, now in its sixth year, involves a £1m investment in a combination of financial support and value-in-kind contributions to combat discrimination and create opportunities within the football industry. Over the past year, Sky Sports has supported various Kick It Out initiatives, including the launch of the 'Football United' strategy, a partnership with Guinness 0.0 aimed at making pubs more welcoming, and the online education platform The Academy. The Raise Your Game programme, which provides young people from underrepresented communities with opportunities to break into football, has also received support from Sky Sports. Notable figures such as Gary Neville and Bela Shah have been involved in these initiatives, with Bela mentoring two Raise Your Game delegates. Sky Sports has also helped promote Kick It Out's partnership with Guinness 0.0 and produced a documentary about Kick It Out founder Lord Herman Ouseley to educate younger audiences about his impact on the organization. This documentary was shown on Sky Sports and at England's game against Latvia to coincide with what would have been Lord Ouseley's 80th birthday. The partnership between Sky and Kick It Out is part of Sky's £30m commitment to addressing structural inequality. It has supported several initiatives, including a joint scholarship program with the University of Liverpool Management School and ongoing investment in Kick It Out's digital learning platform. Hollie Varney, COO of Kick It Out, expressed gratitude for Sky's support, highlighting the partnership's role in providing education and development opportunities for underrepresented communities in football. David Carrigan, Group Director of Diversity, Inclusion and Wellbeing at Sky, emphasized the company's long-term commitment to promoting inclusivity in football. Sky Sports is dedicated to maintaining a platform free from abuse, hate, and profanity, and encourages users to report any hateful content.