Arsenal’s Premier League home game against Hull City on Saturday, October 21 focused on the Arsenal for Everyone initiative, an ongoing scheme which embraces the diversity and equality of the club and its fanbase.
A cross-section of supporters were invited to the game to welcome players on to the pitch. Representatives from our senior citizens bowls group, Girls in Care, Freedom From Torture, adults with learning difficulties and youngsters from our deaf football sessions and local teenagers from our estates programme displayed the iconic Arsenal for Everyone flags as the teams entered the pitch for kick-off.
Equality and inclusion organisation Kick It Out were joined by Level Playing Field - the registered charity which campaigns for equal and fair access for disabled fans - as guests of the club in the Directors' Box at this special match.
The club also became the first Premier League club to offer tickets to the ‘From Headscarves to Football Scarves’ initiative to encourage Asian women to watch football. A group of 20 girls and their families were guests of the club to watch the match at Emirates Stadium. The initiative was spearheaded by Luton Sixth Form College and the National Asians in Football Forum (NAIFF), with the support of a joint project entitled ‘Fans for Diversity’ led by the Football Supporters’ Federation (FSF) and Kick It Out.
Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis said: “The Arsenal for Everyone campaign underlines our ongoing commitment to all aspects of diversity. I am delighted that we welcomed a cross-section of our Arsenal family to the game alongside those who fight for greater inclusivity in sport, and our society as a whole.
"The Arsenal for Everyone matchday is a celebration of our diverse fanbase and the work we do in our community, but equality and diversity is something we need to embrace every day across every aspect of our operation and that is something we will strive to achieve.”
The Arsenal for Everyone initiative was launched six years ago to celebrate the diversity of the Arsenal family and formed a large part in the club’s work in becoming the first professional football club to achieve the advanced level of Kick It Out’s Equality Standard, a framework devised for clubs to help with their equality and diversity practices.
Arsenal strives to ensure that everybody connected with the club - irrespective of race, age, religion and belief, sexual orientation, disability and gender - feels an equal sense of belonging.
Arsenal made an early commitment to the women’s game in 1987 when the Arsenal Ladies team became part of the club. Since this time the team have won a total of 38 trophies in their 27-year history.
Arsenal’s ongoing work in its community reaches around 5,000 individuals across more than 40 different projects at 55 different venues in any given week. Projects range from women and girls' football sessions to education and football projects with adults with learning difficulties, mental health problems and refugee and asylum seekers through The Arsenal Foundation’s work with Freedom From Torture. Arsenal in the Community also enjoys inks with the Anne Frank Trust, the Jewish Museum and Islington Council on a number of events and workshops aimed at educating young people.
Two years ago, Arsenal's LGBT supporters group, ‘Gay Gooners’, was established and now has more than 100 members. Shortly after the launch, members of the group represented the club at the London Pride event, becoming the first Premier League club to do so. The group once again represented the club earlier this year.
Arsenal ensures that its disabled supporters can enjoy football with the best possible facilities at Emirates Stadium. This includes award-winning work to give disabled supporters an unrivalled matchday experience, with half-price season tickets for disabled supporters with accompanying enabler, a dedicated matchday commentary service for visually impaired fans, the creation of an audio version of the matchday programme, provision of a disabled supporters lounge, a Changing Places Toilet facility and the Premier League’s only guide-dog toilet.
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