Sky Sports and Kick It Out Renew Partnership

Sky Sports has extended its partnership with Kick It Out for an additional year, reaffirming their shared commitment to fostering a more welcoming environment in football. This one-year extension marks the sixth year of their collaboration, with a continued investment of £1m in a combination of financial and value-in-kind support to combat discrimination and create career opportunities within the sport. Over the past year, Sky Sports has supported various Kick It Out initiatives, including the launch of the 'Football United' strategy, a new partnership with Guinness 0.0, and the online education platform The Academy, as well as the Raise Your Game programme, which provides opportunities for young people from underrepresented communities to break into the football industry. The 'Football United' strategy was unveiled at an event hosted by Sky Sports News presenter Bela Shah, with leading pundit Gary Neville in attendance. Bela also mentored two Raise Your Game delegates, Elliott-Jay Henry and Razaq Folarin, who co-hosted an event for the first time after meeting her at Sky Sports Studios. Sky Sports helped promote Kick It Out's partnership with Guinness 0.0, aimed at making pubs more welcoming, with pundit Clinton Morrison featuring at the launch event. Additionally, Sky Sports News reporter Dharmesh Sheth hosted Kick It Out's Media Raise Your Game event, which included a workshop by producer Maryam Chaudhary and reporter Chris Reidy. Sky Sports also produced a documentary about Kick It Out founder Lord Herman Ouseley, which was shown on Sky Sports and at England's game against Latvia to coincide with what would have been his 80th birthday. The documentary aimed to educate younger audiences about Lord Ouseley's impact on the organisation he founded over 30 years ago. This investment is part of Sky's £30m commitment to addressing structural inequality, which has supported several initiatives over the past six years, including a joint scholarship programme with the University of Liverpool Management School and ongoing investment in Kick It Out's digital learning platform, The Academy. Hollie Varney, COO of Kick It Out, expressed gratitude for Sky's ongoing support, stating that their partnership has provided unique education and development opportunities for underrepresented communities in football, aligning with their 'Football United' strategy. David Carrigan, Group Director of Diversity, Inclusion and Wellbeing at Sky, highlighted the importance of the partnership in driving forward a more inclusive and representative game, using Sky's platform and influence to create opportunities and challenge discrimination. Sky Sports is dedicated to maintaining a hate-free environment on its social media platforms and website, and encourages users to report any abusive or hateful content.