bound to piss flano off
Rovers against Racism
Hoops blitz Tallaght schools with anti-racism message
Thursday, June 26th, 2007, 2.25pm
Shamrock Rovers officially launched their Show Racism the Red Card campaign with a series of visits to schools in the Tallaght area.
The Hoops visited over 1,000 children in one week, taking in ten schools as they sought to spread the Show Racism the Red Card message.
Club Promotion Officer Barry Dolan and American intern Jamie Sobolewski along with players Jamie Duffy, Barry Ferguson, David OConnor and FAI Community Officer Jim Crawford went into schools throughout the Tallaght region.
Each school received a thirty minute educational yet fun and interactive presentation, which included interviews from the players, DVD clips, a PowerPoint, and a question and answer game. The ultimate goal of the Rovers initiative is to do their part to help put an end to racism and integrate people of all different cultures into Irish society through football.
In addition to the presentation every student received a free ticket to a Rovers game and a poster. This presentation was another way in which Shamrock Rovers continue to reach out and establish a strong bond with their community.
Hoops midfielder and Tallaght native David O’Connor enthused, Its always great to meet our supporters and to be involved with this campaign and the community. We expect to see many of the faces we meet today in the school to be at our home games for the rest of the summer, thats why we are giving them the tickets and goodies - they are the next superstars!
The football players from Shamrock Rovers were able to express the important concept of integration to the students with their own personal experiences of playing with people from all different countries and cultures.
By playing with people from all over I have been able to learn about different football techniques, different cultures and lifestyles, as well as acquire friends and teammates from all over, Rovers player Jamie Duffy told the young kids.
The presentations and messages went over very well in all of the schools.
In the beginning some of the kids did not even know what racism was, explains club promotion officer Barry Dolan, but by the end they all knew what was considered racist and how to do their own part to put an end to it. It was brilliant to see how the young kids received the message through football.
In the true Rover style the club has already followed up on their presentations by visiting each school again to thank them and offer them any other additional assistance.
The success of these presentations attracted local publicity. Not only did Shamrock Rovers have an article in the Tallaght Echo newspaper they also conducted a live radio interview with Tallaght 99fm.
Rovers hope that through sports, young kids can meet new friends and people from different cultures. Shamrock Rovers continue to support this anti-racism campaign by not allowing any forms of racist abuse at their matches.
If you or your organization would like a visit from the Rovers against Racism group or more information please contact Barry Dolan at: barrydolan@shamrockrovers.ie.