The State of the Sector – Race Equality Event
Sporting Equals champions ethnic diversity across sport and physical activity. Originally set up in 1998 by Sport England, in partnership with the Commission for Racial Equality, they are now a fully independent body. They have an Associate Member network of over 500 clubs and are a System Partner for both Sport England and Sport Scotland.
“At the Race Equality Event we provide a focus point on progress made, celebrate successes and chart the next steps for the sector to be more inclusive and diverse. Through this event we can see the year on year progress made by National Governing Bodies in their determination to be more representative of the population. This is a chance to share best practice and support one another.” – Arun Kang Sporting Equals CEO
Event Premise
The key focuses of this event were:
- The current state of equity in sport, “banter” being used as an excuse for racism
- The role of the media’s actions relating to incidents in racism
Guest speaker Azeem Rafiq discussed his experiences of the negative impact on “banter” at a professional sporting level and the impact it has had on his life, both on and off the cricket pitch.
For this event, Sporting Equals needed the perfect venue in order to address these current and pertinent issues.
Stamford Bridge was chosen to host, with three main factors setting the stadium apart:
- Location and proximity to public transport
- Competitive rates
- Relevance to event – being an iconic sporting venue
The Event
The Drake Suite was used as the main room for the event, where 160 attendees listened to guest speaker Azeem Rafiq, while two of the Millennium Suites were used as breakout spaces for guests to share their experiences and celebrate positive changes they have seen within the industry.
Bespoke catering and AV packages were put together for Sporting Equals to help them deliver a successful event.
Feedback
“The support we had in the build up to the event, and on the day was very helpful. We had prompt replies to our questions and were given a good tour of the venue to help imagine what the event could look like. We would definitely look at working with Chelsea FC again.. ” –Simon Webb, Head of Marketing & Communication
