Kick It Out announced that it has logged a historic 1,744 discrimination complaints spanning the professional tiers, grassroots football, and online platforms during the inaugural year of its Football United programme. The surge, the organisation explains, is partly driven by a noticeable rise in anti‑immigrant rhetoric, but it also reflects the success of newly forged reporting pathways with partners such as Her Game Too, the Frank Soo Foundation and Football v Homophobia. These collaborations have given a broader cross‑section of the football community the confidence to come forward with incidents they might previously have kept to themselves.
During the 2025/26 season alone, more than one hundred of those complaints were submitted via the fresh channels introduced with the partner groups. While the headline figure might suggest a worsening of football’s cultural climate, Kick It Out cautions against a simplistic interpretation. The rise in reports is also a sign that people from diverse backgrounds are feeling more empowered to speak up, and that the organisation’s outreach and relationship‑building work is bearing fruit.
Looking ahead, Kick It Out expects the network of reporting partnerships to expand further in the 2026/27 season, widening the safety net for anyone who experiences discrimination on or off the pitch. Samuel Okafor, the chief executive of Kick It Out, underscored the urgency of the moment: "At a time of rising discrimination and where we need action to make the game more inclusive and representative of all communities, football must be more united to take on its challenges." Okafor continued, "Although our Impact Report shows a year of progress working alongside existing and new partners, we know that with further collaboration we can build on our policy, campaigning, education and reporting programmes to make the game more welcoming for everyone." The Year One Impact Report, released on Tuesday, paints a comprehensive picture of the scale of the problem the charity is tackling as it strives to create a more inclusive sport. The report marks the first year of Football United, a five‑year strategic plan launched in September 2025.
The strategy is anchored around four overarching aims: ensuring everyone feels included; guaranteeing representation on the field; fostering leadership opportunities off the pitch; and standing firmly against discrimination in all its forms. Within this framework, Kick It Out highlighted a series of noteworthy achievements. Education has been a cornerstone of the effort. Over 11,000 individuals participated in Kick It Out’s educational programmes, ranging from workshops for young players to sessions for coaches and club officials.
In addition, 583 participants completed the "Raise Your Game" development scheme, which focuses on nurturing inclusive leadership skills, while 148 people took part in the Fan Education initiative designed to empower supporters to recognise and challenge prejudice. A high‑profile partnership with Guinness 0.0 extended the charity’s reach beyond the stadium walls and into public houses. More than 3,000 staff members of the Greene King hospitality group received training on how to spot and respond to discriminatory behaviour, illustrating how the message of inclusion can be embedded in everyday community settings.
The 2025/26 season also witnessed a landmark development in transparency: professional clubs published workforce diversity data for the first time under FA Rule N. This new requirement sheds light on the composition of club leadership and offers a benchmark for progress toward greater representation at senior levels. Kick It Out also played a pivotal role in shaping policy.
Working alongside more than 20 partner organisations, the charity helped draft proposals for the Independent Football Regulator. These submissions aim to tighten board‑level accountability on equality, diversity and inclusion, and to set concrete representation targets for club boards and senior management. Beyond policy, the organisation’s collaborative projects addressed a spectrum of issues, including online abuse, sexism and misogyny, faith‑based discrimination, and the broader inclusion of under‑represented communities.
By tackling both the digital and physical arenas where prejudice can surface, Kick It Out is attempting to create a holistic defence against discrimination. Okafor summed up the outlook for the next phase: "This is only year one of the strategy, so we know there is so much more to achieve, but we have ambitious plans for the coming season where we will expand grassroots anti‑discrimination education, increase Fan Education delivery with support from the Premier League and grow Raise Your Game. We are determined to keep building a game where everyone is included, and everyone is united in tackling discrimination wherever it happens." The report concludes with a call to action for all stakeholders—clubs, supporters, governing bodies and sponsors—to maintain momentum and ensure that football lives up to its promise as a sport for everyone, regardless of background, identity or belief. Play Super 6 for a chance to win £1m!
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