Kick It Out announced that it has logged a historic 1,744 discrimination complaints spanning professional football, grassroots initiatives and online platforms during the inaugural year of its Football United programme. The surge, the organisation explains, is linked to 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, which have empowered more individuals to come forward. During the 2025/26 campaign, more than a hundred of those reports were submitted through the fresh channels established with these allies.
While the raw figure might initially appear alarming, Kick It Out stresses that it should not be interpreted solely as a sign of deteriorating culture within the sport. Rather, it signals growing confidence among marginalized groups to flag abusive behaviour and the strengthening of collaborative relationships with key stakeholders. The organisation expects the network of reporting partnerships to broaden further in the 2026/27 season, thereby enhancing the reach and effectiveness of its anti‑discrimination framework. Samuel Okafor, the chief executive of Kick It Out, commented: "In a climate where prejudice is on the rise and where we urgently need action to make football truly inclusive and reflective of all communities, the game must stand together to confront its challenges." He continued, "Our Impact Report demonstrates a year of progress achieved alongside both existing and new partners.
Yet we recognise that deeper collaboration will allow us to expand our policy work, campaigning, education and reporting programmes, ultimately creating a more welcoming environment for everyone." The Year One Impact Report, released on Tuesday, paints a vivid picture of the scale of the task ahead as Kick It Out strives to embed inclusion across every level of the sport. The report reviews the first twelve months of Football United, a five‑year strategic plan launched in September 2025 that is built around four core ambitions: universal inclusion, representation on the pitch, leadership opportunities off the pitch, and a collective stand against discrimination. Among the highlights of the debut year, more than 11,000 individuals participated in Kick It Out’s educational workshops, while 583 people completed the Raise Your Game development scheme and 148 took part in Fan Education sessions.
A notable partnership with Guinness 0.0 extended the organisation’s reach into the hospitality sector, delivering discrimination‑recognition training to over 3,000 Greene King employees. The 2025/26 season also marked a milestone for transparency, as professional clubs published workforce diversity statistics for the first time under FA Rule N. This new requirement shed light on the composition of leadership teams and provided a benchmark for future progress in board‑level representation.
Kick It Out collaborated with more than twenty external bodies to submit proposals to the Independent Football Regulator, influencing the development of stronger board‑level accountability measures concerning equality, diversity and inclusion. These proposals also introduced concrete representation targets for club boards and senior management roles.
Beyond structural reforms, the organisation worked closely with partners to tackle a range of issues, including online abuse, sexism and misogyny, faith‑based discrimination, and the broader inclusion of under‑represented communities. These joint efforts aimed to create safer digital environments and to challenge harmful attitudes both on and off the field. Okafor underscored that this is merely the first year of a longer journey: "We have ambitious plans for the upcoming season. We will scale up grassroots anti‑discrimination education, broaden the delivery of Fan Education with the Premier League’s support, and grow the Raise Your Game programme.
Our commitment is to keep building a sport where everyone feels included and where we stand united against discrimination wherever it surfaces." The report’s findings serve as both a celebration of early achievements and a reminder of the work that remains. By expanding reporting mechanisms, deepening partnerships, and embedding diversity metrics into club governance, Kick It Out aims to transform football into a space where respect and equality are the norm rather than the exception. In addition to its core initiatives, Kick It Out continues to engage the wider public through campaigns such as the Play Super 6 competition, which offers participants a chance to win £1 million at no cost.
This promotional element helps raise awareness of the organisation’s mission while encouraging broader community involvement in the fight against discrimination.