Malmö FF finalist in volunteer award

Malmö FF finalist in volunteer award

Every year since 2007, Swedes have been able to nominate enthusiasts from the Swedish club scene in Folkspel’s Årets Eldsjäl (Fire Soul of the Year project). The winners are rewarded at an annual gala – the Fire Soul Gala. The purpose of the Fire Soul of the Year and the Fire Soul Gala is to highlight the importance and significance of Swedish voluntary life and the important cogs, the fire souls, that make it possible for voluntary associations to survive.

Hard work pays off

For 12 years, Malmö FF has been working hard against racism – and to help build a better society. They are a big family with a big and strong voice – that is why they have to be involved and contribute to a better region, says Karin Heri, responsible for sustainability and social issues in Malmö FF. The Sports Association of the Year category is a collaboration between Folkspels Årets Eldsjäl and Riksidrottsförbundet. The category changes theme each year, based on key areas that sport has to work with. This year, RF has called for inclusive clubs, for everyone regardless of skin colour and ethnicity, that work to challenge whiteness norms and counter racism. Malmö FF is one of four finalists for this year’s gala and the club is constantly working to challenge whiteness standards and counter racism, both by preventing and reacting when something happens.

The club has actively sought out partners and for 12 years has been working with the City of Malmö on the activity “Primary school football against racism – Give racism a red card”. The seeds for “Football against racism – for everyone’s safety and equal value” were sown as early as 2010. At the time, Malmö FF gathered representatives from 26 Scanian clubs to work out a manifesto for how the fight against racism and discrimination should work in practice.

The following year we saw the start of the Football Against Racism tournament for girls and boys aged twelve, which has been combined with discussions on the drafted manifesto since its first year. Malmö FF cooperates on these issues with, among others, the City of Malmö and a number of primary schools, but also with, for example, the City Mission.

This is not a project that they carry out, but it is part of their business. You could say that they have taken the Convention on the Rights of the Child and broken it down into smaller and more easily understood parts, which we then work on, says Karin Heri. Malmö FF’s work starts in primary schools – not primarily in the locker room.

Last year, a total of 32 schools and around 2,200 pupils took part. A total of 12,000 children and young people took part in “Primary school football against racism”, the main aim being to remove prejudice from the classroom so that it will not be present in, for example, club life. What they should perhaps be most pleased about is how they’ve managed to take a message and create a concept of what is then an entire academic year, says Karin Heri.