News

The Rangers Charity Foundation has been shortlisted for a prestigious gong at the Sports Business Awards 2020.

The Sports Business Awards celebrate the hard work and successes of individuals and teams across the UK who make all sporting success possible, both on and off the pitch. Previous winners include The PGA European Tour, England Rugby, Manchester United, Everton and more.

The Foundation is delighted to have been named in the shortlist for the Sports Diversity Award, recognising organisations which are placing diversity at the heart of their objectives and engagement.

Diversity and inclusion has become a key focus for the Rangers Charity Foundation in recent years, and it’s worked hard to develop new community engagement projects which not only focus on education, but help children of all backgrounds access football.  The Foundation has also been instrumental in celebrating diversity alongside the Club as part of the ground-breaking Everyone Anyone initiative.

In the current football climate, there can be many challenges facing those who aim to make a positive change via diversity and inclusion work, however, the Foundation is proud to tackle all forms of discrimination to make the sport welcoming for everyone.

Recent work in this area includes:

• The launch of a new programme which helps to promote equality between young people and focuses on interactive anti-sectarianism and LGBT+ awareness sessions, Diversity Wins. This was the first of its kind in the UK and is delivered out of the Ibrox Community Hub to 700 primary pupils.
• A free ‘Autism Friendly Football’ programme. Youngsters aged between five and 16, who live with Autism and might not otherwise have been able to access mainstream football, can now enjoy the sport they love with specially trained Foundation coaches.
• Free Visually Impaired Football sessions for children of all abilities. The programme allows children who might not otherwise be able to enjoy mainstream football to access the game.
• The Foundation teamed up with Show Racism the Red Card Netherlands and six other European clubs to deliver a 24-month anti-racism and anti-discrimination programme, which will utilise the high-profile status of football to help tackle racism and other forms of discrimination in society.
• Out with community delivery, the Foundation also supports Rangers Football Club’s wider diversity and inclusion strategy. It helped to launch the club’s first LGBT+ supporters club, Ibrox Pride, engaged with CEMVO Scotland in partnership with the club to help enhance relationships with ethnic minorities in Glasgow and established a Diversity and Inclusion Working Group made up of Club staff and external representatives, which it now chairs. The Foundation also supports a range of diversity and inclusion focused initiatives with partners, such as the LEAP Sport festival, MardiGla and Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces.
• The Rangers Charity Foundation was proud to help launch a ground-breaking campaign, ‘Everyone Anyone’ with Rangers FC, which aims to unite people from all backgrounds, cultures and communities.

Commenting on the news, Rangers Charity Foundation Director, Connal Cochrane, said: “To be shortlisted for such a high profile award is great news for the Rangers Charity Foundation.

“The diversity and scale of the work undertaken by the Foundation, by what is a relatively small team, is remarkable. We were delighted to win two awards in 2019, and this further exemplifies the success of our strategic approach, as well as the skill and commitment of our brilliant staff.

“Football’s ability to become a tool for engaging people and help them to transform their lives for the better is incredible, and we are proud as Rangers Football Club’s official charity to be standing shoulder-to-should with some of the biggest names in sport, who are all doing brilliant work in their own communities.

“I would like to congratulate all nominees and wish them the best of luck at the Sports Business Awards later this year.”

The complete shortlist for the Sports Diversity Award includes:

• Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club v homophobia
• British Martial Arts & Boxing Association
• Everton Football Club
• Leicester City Football Club
• Project Rugby – Premiership Rugby
• Rangers Charity Foundation
• The 2019 Solheim Cup – VisitScotland/EventScotland
• Ready Steady Active

Winners will be selected ahead of the Awards Ceremony, which will take place in London on Wednesday 16^th December.

The judging panel is made up of CEOs across all sports alongside individuals whose knowledge, expertise and experience gives them special insight into the challenges and demands of sports business success. Designed to celebrate the vital influence of business within sport the awards recognise the organisations, teams and individuals who excel in a variety of business, CSR and sports governance disciplines.

For more information about the Sports Business Awards, visit: https://sportsbusinessawards.co.uk.