LALIGA and the Ministry of Inclusion will sign agreement to transfer use of M.O.O.D

LALIGA and the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration will sign a collaboration agreement with the aim of fighting racism in the sporting arena, promoting inclusion and generating debate to eradicate discriminatory behaviour in sport. The agreement includes the transfer of M.O.O.D, LALIGA's tool to monitor hate and racism on social media, to the Government from the start of the next season onwards.

This announcement was made by the Minister for Inclusion, Elma Saiz, and LALIGA President Javier Tebas, at an event to assess the results of an awareness-raising campaign to combat racism: "We are going to win this match". The tool will optimise the monitoring strategy already in place at The Spanish Observatory on Racism and Xenophobia (OBERAXE).

As part of the agreement between the Ministry and LALIGA, and in addition to sharing the tool to help prevent instances of violence, tackle them, and work specifically against racism and xenophobia, publicity campaigns will also be developed, as well as education through a module on racism in grassroots football, plus various one-off collaborations with FUNDACIÓN LALIGA.

As explained by the Minister of Inclusion, Elma Saiz: “We cannot stand idly by when we know that hate speech has grown exponentially in recent times due, in large part, to its spread on the internet and through social media. With this tool provided by LALIGA, we will be able to improve our analysis and act accordingly”.

LALIGA president Javier Tebas agreed on the importance of continuing to tackle racism: “At LALIGA, we've been fighting against racism for years and joining projects such as this from the Government, and working together with the private and public sector, only validates all the effort invested so far. We're convinced that this agreement will signify a turning point in the fight against violence and hatred".

"We are going to win this match".

The “We are going to win this match" campaign, which lasted four weeks, sought to promote inclusion and generate debate on how to eradicate discriminatory behaviour, which is often encouraged by hate speech, in the sporting arena. This was the first joint campaign between LALIGA and the Ministry and is part of a broader collaboration with the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration that is expected to culminate in an agreement signed by both parties at the start of the 2024-2025 season. 

During the campaign, various educational activities were carried out around the world of football. LALIGA, through its active participation in the initiative, showed its commitment to combating hate, violence and discrimination, in line with the efforts of its LALIGA VS platform and the projects developed by FUNDACIÓN LALIGA on these issues.

It also forms part of the European SCORE project 'Sporting Cities Opposing Racism in Europe', which is led by the Ministry itself through OBERAXE and is based on using grassroots sport as a fundamental tool for promoting social inclusion and triggering a transformative dialogue. In her assessment of the campaign, the Minister for Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Elma Saiz, highlighted the work carried out by OBERAXE, as it leads this European project. "Hate speech has no place in any part of our society,” she stated.

SCORE Project

The European SCORE project, co-funded by the European Commission through the 2021 CESR Programme (Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values), started in June 2022 and will end in November 2024. The overall objective of SCORE is to create a broad and inclusive alliance of European cities and local authorities for the promotion of inclusive sport, as well as for the prevention of racism, xenophobia and related intolerance in sport. OBERAXE plays a fundamental role in this task and objective, as, in addition to acting as the project's leader, it serves as a platform for knowledge, analysis and promotion of everything that helps to combat racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia.

The SCORE campaign is being carried out in six European countries (Spain, France, Greece, Ireland, Austria and Sweden) and is supported by a total of 14 local, national and international partners. The campaign features local, national and international ambassadors, including athletes such as Aauri Bokesa, Thaylor Lubanzadio, Violeta Pérez, Antonio Liu, Nilofar Baya, Djeneba Touré, Melissa Besara, Gustavo Nazar and Juan Diego Amador Rivero.

The SCORE project is a result of the lines of action proposed in the Strategic Framework for Citizenship and Inclusion, against Racism and Xenophobia 2023-2027, which suggests several approaches in various areas, including sport.