This season marks the 25th anniversary of Kick It Out and the club will be dedicating the Bantams' Bank Holiday fixture against Gillingham to support their work, while supporting the 'week of action'.
For the last two-and-a-half decades, the organisation has been at the heart of the drive towards equality, inclusion and cohesion for everyone who plays, watches or works in football.
But the high-profile incidents which have marred football this season prove the sport needs an organisation like Kick It Out now more than ever.
Having started as ‘Let’s Kick Racism Out of Football’, back in 1993, Kick It Out has evolved into an organisation which – working alongside its partners The FA, the Premier League, the English Football League, The Professional Footballers’ Association, the League Managers Association and the Football Supporters’ Federation, among others – fights ALL forms of discrimination in the game we love.
To celebrate their achievement and support the movement, the club will be dedicating our upcoming home game against Gillingham to Kick It Out (Monday April 22, kick-off 3.00pm).
On the day, Bradford City Womens FC (BCWFC), the Bangla Bantams, Just a Ball Game and Bradford City Disability FC Women's team will be in attendance.
And BCWFC's junior team will be playing on the pitch at half-time to represent Kick It Out's dedication to fighting discrimination across all forms in football.
Kick It Out has established an equality framework for professional clubs, supporting the development of equality practices and policies, and enabled more effective reporting and investigating of complaints of discriminatory abuse through its pioneering reporting app.
However, despite 25 years of progress, hatred, prejudice, abuse and discrimination are still evident in our society and in football.
In the 2018/19 season and beyond, we want everyone involved in football to continue to campaign for equality and challenge discrimination, while playing a part in shaping a fair and inclusive future for everyone who loves the game.
But don’t forget to recognise how far we’ve come. Let’s kick racism and discrimination out of football – together.
You can report discrimination to Kick It Out via their app, via email on report@kickitout.org, via their online reporting form on their website, or via freephone on 0800 169 9414.
Keep up to date with the organisation’s work at the following:
Twitter: @kickitout
Facebook: @kickitoutofficial
Instagram: @kickitout
Website: www.kickitout.org