Sky Sports and Kick It Out Renew Their Partnership

Sky Sports has reaffirmed its commitment to promoting inclusivity in football by extending its partnership with Kick It Out for another year. This renewed collaboration, now in its sixth year, involves a £1m investment in a combination of financial support and value-in-kind contributions aimed at combating discrimination and creating career opportunities within the sport. Over the past year, Sky Sports has actively supported various Kick It Out initiatives, including the launch of the 'Football United' strategy, a new partnership with Guinness 0.0, the online education platform known as The Academy, and the Raise Your Game programme, which offers young individuals from underrepresented communities a chance to break into the football industry. The 'Football United' strategy was unveiled at an event in Battersea, attended by Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville, and hosted by Sky Sports News presenter Bela Shah. 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 Bela at the Sky Sports Studios. Sky Sports further showcased Kick It Out's partnership with Guinness 0.0, aimed at making pubs more welcoming, with Clinton Morrison as the main attraction at the launch event in a Greene King pub in Westminster. The partnership seeks to train thousands of Greene King staff to foster inclusivity and identify football-related discrimination. Additionally, Sky Sports News reporter Dharmesh Sheth hosted Kick It Out's Media Raise Your Game event at UCFB's Wembley campus, where a workshop was conducted by producer Maryam Chaudhary and reporter Chris Reidy for a record number of attendees. Sky Sports also produced a documentary about Kick It Out founder Lord Herman Ouseley to educate younger audiences about his impact since creating the organisation over 30 years ago. The documentary was screened on Sky Sports and at England's game against Latvia, coinciding with what would have been Lord Ouseley's 80th birthday. Furthermore, Sky's creative team provided digital support to highlight his impact on LED screens around Wembley Stadium. This investment is part of Sky's £30m commitment to addressing structural inequality. Over the last six years, Sky's multimillion-pound investment in Kick It Out has supported several initiatives, including a joint scholarship programme with the University of Liverpool Management School, which has enabled eight candidates from underrepresented backgrounds to graduate with an MBA in Football Industries. It has also included ongoing investment in Kick It Out's digital learning platform, The Academy, which has delivered educational content on equality, diversity, and inclusion to almost 5,000 people. Hollie Varney, COO of Kick It Out, expressed gratitude for Sky's ongoing support, stating that the partnership has provided unique education and development opportunities for underrepresented communities in football, aligning with the heart of their 'Football United' strategy. David Carrigan, Group Director of Diversity, Inclusion and Wellbeing at Sky, reiterated Sky's long-term commitment to tackling structural inequality in football, not just through funding but also by leveraging Sky's platform and influence to create opportunities, amplify voices, and challenge discrimination. Sky Sports is dedicated to maintaining its online presence as a space for comment and debate that is free from abuse, hate, and profanity, and encourages users to report any hateful content.