Cherries players show racism the red card

Just under 100 students from Pokesdown Primary, St Luke’s Primary School, St Walburga’s Primary School and Corpus Christi spent the afternoon at the stadium as they discussed racism and how to respond if they are the victims or witness racism.

Lloyd Kelly and Ayuma Asira represented the Cherries, alongside Simone Pound of the PFA and Steve Cuss from AFCB Community Sports Trust, as they fielded questions from the youngsters and discussed their own experiences with racism.

The event ended with Kelly and Asira spending time signing autographs for the young supporters, with the best questions earning special prizes!

Kelly spoke to afcb.co.uk at the event, saying: “There were some good questions actually, which took me by surprise, so it shows these younger kids are switched on and know what is going on in the world we live in.

“It is always nice to get different opinions and experiences that people have faced in their life. Today, there were loads of different stories about people growing up and experiencing racism, how different people dealt with it.”

Simone Pound, Head of Equalities at the PFA, added: “The PFA are really big supporters of Show Racism the Red Card and the main messages are that we use football as a tool to educate and inspire, so the fact that it is being hosted by Bournemouth today is really important.

“Football has such a powerful way of reaching out to children and helping them learn and understand things, and racism and the issues surrounding racism in society is something that football can help address with children from an educational perspective.”