July 8 – A new initiative to promote integration and social awareness was unveiled by CONCACAF prior to the Gold Cup’s first game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena — a direct follow-up to Fifa’s Anti-racism and Discrimination campaign approved at its recent congress in Mauritius.
Launching his confederation’s Embrace Diversity programme, CONCACAF President Jeffrey Webb – who also chairs the Fifa anti-racism Task Force with the directive to oversee all matters related to racism in football — and CONCACAF General Secretary, Enrique Sanz, presented the regional initiative by stating Concacaf wanted to lead the way when it came to cutting out discrimination.
“By safeguarding the basic principle of respect amongst all individuals in our stadiums, we hope to contribute to remove discrimination barriers within society,” said Webb. “Ignorance and prejudice are the ill of humanity. We want to make sure that nothing steers the focus away from the game of football.”
The Embrace Diversity logo will be showcased on field boards throughout each of the Gold Cup’s 25 games. “Even though we have come a long way in the pursuit of integration, discrimination still plays an active role as an unfortunate reflection of society within our game,” added Sanz. “The CONCACAF family is committed to enhancing the benefits of embracing diversity within our region in our quest to eliminate any type of discrimination from our field.”