On Wednesday 16th October 2024, Durham County FA hosted the Tackling Discrimination and Hate Crime Conference at the Durham County Cricket Club with presentations from our FA and other organisation partners.

The conference was well attended by representatives from Leagues, Clubs, and other organisations, totalling 85 people.

John Topping, Durham County FA CEO, opened the Conference which was dedicated in the memory of Lord Herman Ouseley who sadly passed away on 2nd October.

Lord Ouseley was a titan for tackling discrimination in football. He was the chair of Kick It Out for over 25 years, having founded Let’s Kick Racism Out of Football in 1993.

He was a fearless advocate for underrepresented and disadvantaged communities and will be sorely missed.

Speakers and topics covered included:

• John Topping and David Cleary, Durham County FA – Aims & Objectives, Update on number of incidents of cases reported and reporting on the processes involved.
• Steve Waddingham & Paul Clarke , Durham Constabulary - What is hate crime, racism in football, homophobia, consequences of hate crime
• Craig Lee - The FA –Regional Discipline Manager - Match Day Process, Reporting, Investigating and Charging, Sanctions
• Anwar Uddin MBE - The FA - Diversity and Inclusion Manager – His role within the FA supporting Counties to achieve their Diversity Inclusion Action Plan, journey from playing to coaching, Fans For Diversity
• Colin Smith – Inclusion Advisory Board Member – Impact Speech
• Mel Metcalf - The North East of England Rainbow Alliance - representatives from different agencies who are all about supporting victims who have been a victim of hate crime
• Shaun Campbell - The Arthur Wharton Foundation – The World’s First Black Professional Football - using Arthur Wharton’s story to inspire, motivate, and educate to fight against racism in sport and beyond

All attendees were involved in the conference which has been well received and it is intended to roll out similar conferences throughout the County.

Thanks goes to all who attended and participated.