PM remarks at the Show Racism the Red Card reception: 2 June 2025
Prime Minister's remarks at the Show Racism the Red Card reception in Downing Street.
Thank you, Shaka [Hislop] and thank you for all that you바카라 사이트™ve done and all that you have inspired바카라 사이트”because to look out here so many years after the instant you described a moment ago and see so many people who바카라 사이트™ve contributed to this really important campaign and cause바카라 사이트”must be inspiring for you. It바카라 사이트™s certainly inspiring for us with this great charity, Show Racism the Red Card.
And as you said, it was almost 30 years ago now from that moment in the petrol station near Saint James바카라 사이트™s Park, where you were facing appalling racism and abuse. I think a moment ago you told me you바카라 사이트™d just got married. You were newly married, simply stopping to fill up the car, facing that abuse until the perpetrators realised that the person they were targeting was the Newcastle goalkeeper that they so admired. In that moment, they changed completely and you saw the power of football with that바카라 사이트”to change our country바카라 사이트”and were determined to seize it and to build something better out of that moment. The way Shaka put it to me just now was that at 100 yards he faced racism and hatred; at 100 feet, when people were closer, he experienced friendship and a wanting to have his autograph. That, I think, has driven you바카라 사이트”this sense that if we can pull people closer and act in that way, the power of doing so is phenomenal.
In that particular case, it was the very same individual whose behaviour changed in a very short period of time. And here we are, years later, in Downing Street, and it is my privilege to be able to host you and to host everybody here in this garden with a charity that has reached 1.3 million people. And not just the work that바카라 사이트™s been done in football grounds themselves, but in schools, in workplaces, and stadiums across the country. And of course, with so many others that have joined this mission바카라 사이트”all of those that are here tonight, but many other people who can바카라 사이트™t be here this evening바카라 사이트”have played a huge part as well. And we say thanks to them.
We바카라 사이트™ve got pioneers like Trevor Sinclair, Anita Asante, Richard Offiong, and Chris Hughton here today. We바카라 사이트™re so special. Thank you to all of them and people across the football world, all doing so much in their own right to support this cause. So not just on behalf of myself as Prime Minister, but on behalf of the whole country, I바카라 사이트™d like to say a huge thank you. And when I say the whole country, I always remind myself that it바카라 사이트™s a privilege to stand here, and there are millions of people who would love to stand here this evening and say thank you to you for all that you have done.
I say that as Prime Minister, but I say it on behalf of all the people who would love to stand here and say hello to you and say thank you to you바카라 사이트”people whose lives have been affected. As you said, Shaka, the people who you won바카라 사이트™t even know, won바카라 사이트™t ever meet, but whose lives have been changed by the work that has been done. And that바카라 사이트™s the power of inspiration바카라 사이트”reaching beyond the immediate and bringing other people in behind this important work and using the power of football to fight racism and build a better, more inclusive Britain. And there바카라 사이트™s only one further step tonight that we need to take. I바카라 사이트™ve been determined to do it for a long time, which is to put some five-a-side goals back here.Â
I바카라 사이트™m a season ticket holder, go to football now, but I바카라 사이트™ve been going for many years like other people here. And I do remember when going to football was a very different experience than it is today, especially for fans and players from certain communities, it was a very different experience. And I remember that as a fan watching football week in, week out. So yes, we celebrate today how far we바카라 사이트™ve come바카라 사이트”and we should바카라 사이트”but it is also a call to action because we know we바카라 사이트™ve got to go further. And we can바카라 사이트™t be complacent, even within football itself.
Never forget, it was only four years ago, in the summer of 2021, when those young England stars faced appalling abuse after that penalty shootout against Italy in the finals of the Euros. But yet that team, after that experience, I can still remember the players going up to take those penalties and the aftermath. And then the outpouring of hatred, vitriol, abuse that came, which I think was shocking for them바카라 사이트”certainly shocking for all of us, including for me바카라 사이트”because just as we think that we바카라 사이트™ve made great strides forward, there바카라 사이트™s a brutal reminder: not so fast. Don바카라 사이트™t be complacent.
And yet that team, those young players, supported by Gareth, stood up and showed real leadership in the face of that hatred and that abuse. They used the honour of representing our country in our national game to help us build a better nation, a more inclusive nation, and to make us proud of our national identity, of who we are and what we stand for. And that was a brilliant response to what happened just four years ago and enabled us to bring the country together through that shared emotion of football. And that바카라 사이트™s the power of football that we바카라 사이트™re all here to harness today, because it doesn바카라 사이트™t matter who you are, where you come from, what you do for a living바카라 사이트”the basic joy of stepping onto a pitch and kicking a ball is deep in our humanity. And I say this from personal experience: football is for everyone. There바카라 사이트™s something special about stepping onto the pitch where almost everything else falls away, and it just depends on you and your teammates around you. And it바카라 사이트™s a reminder of the power of football and that football is for everyone.
Even for me, IÂ am unashamedly ambitious about how we can use the unifying power of football to educate, as you are doing, to fight discrimination, bring our communities together, and promote health and fitness. And it really gives people a leg up with skills, employability, and confidence. And for young people, to my mind, confidence is probably the number one most valuable thing in whatever they do바카라 사이트”the confidence it gives and the way that football contributes to all of that. And many of you here are leading the way with that, including many of our football clubs. But just to take some examples that I바카라 사이트™ve seen from Arsenal: David Dein pioneering the Twinning Project, using football to reduce reoffending. What a brilliant project that is바카라 사이트”to go into prisons and to work with young people to give them a chance when they come out of not going back into prison in the future through the Twinning Project. The Dirt Is Good campaign바카라 사이트”tackling the stigma of stains on clothes and bringing down the barriers that have stopped girls playing sport for too long. And how far have we come because of campaigns like that with our women바카라 사이트™s football, which has gone through massive strides in the last few years. And the support of Adidas to create new local pitches for people from all backgrounds to come and play, including in my own constituency바카라 사이트”what a valuable contribution. Because that gives sport to children and young people who wouldn바카라 사이트™t otherwise have it and gives them the chance not to be mucking about on the streets doing other things which wouldn바카라 사이트™t do them any good in the long term.
And they바카라 사이트™re just examples. But I바카라 사이트™m determined we can do so much more so that in each place there바카라 사이트™s the pride that comes with football, the facilities and opportunities for everyone to play. Because investing in high-quality grassroots facilities in our communities can rebuild the social fabric of our country. We have our big clubs, and we have clubs across the whole of the country. And the pride in place of the local club is huge. The power of that to bring young people into the facilities is huge. And just look at any of the playoffs at Wembley. The whole town wants to go to support their community. Something comes out that is bigger than football, and that바카라 사이트™s the pride of place that football showcases.
And so here we are in the Number 10 garden to talk about how we use football to change our country for the better. On my first day as Prime Minister, I stood on the other side of this building, outside on the steps of Downing Street, and said that we would be a government of service. And that means that this is my place of work. It바카라 사이트™s also where I live, incidentally. But it also belongs to you. And I want you to feel a sense of this. It바카라 사이트™s not a privilege to be here in this garden, because if we바카라 사이트™re the government of service, then we바카라 사이트™re in your service. And therefore, this is a place to which you바카라 사이트™re entitled to come바카라 사이트”not just privileged to come. And I want you to feel a real sense that this is my workplace. But in a sense, today I want it to feel like your workplace as well. You바카라 사이트™re not just invited to be here바카라 사이트”you are entitled to be here, and you바카라 사이트™re welcome. And to put your fingerprints on the work of this government바카라 사이트”it바카라 사이트™s very important that you push us and tell us what else we should be doing. You have the right, given everything you have already contributed, to tell us what else we should do바카라 사이트”to put your fingerprints on the next policy, to make sure that we together shape a better future. And what an inspiring group of people to be able to do this here in this garden.
Thank you for coming. Let바카라 사이트™s show racism the red card and use football to help deliver the change this country needs.
Thank you so much.