LALIGA, FUNDACIÓN LALIGA and the Ministry of Inclusion unite to combat and prevent hate speech in sport

LALIGA, FUNDACIÓN LALIGA, and the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration (MISSM) have joined forces by signing an agreement to combat racist and hate speech in sports. As part of this initiative, LALIGA is providing the Ministry with its M.O.O.D tool (Monitor para la Observación del Odio en el Deporte - Monitor for the Observation of Hate in Sport) to monitor hate messages on social media. Additionally, the agreement includes the use of material from Futura Afición, the educational project by FUNDACIÓN LALIGA that promotes and fosters positive values in sports among children.

This collaboration will assist in optimising the strategy for monitoring hate speech on social networks carried out by the Spanish Observatory of Racism and Xenophobia (OBERAXE). It involves the search, collection, analysis, and reporting to internet platforms of hate speech content related to sport, as well as improving the analysis and monitoring of speech motivated by racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and anti-Romani sentiment, that is already being carried out.

Furthermore, as a result of this agreement, FUNDACIÓN LALIGA will make the Futura Afición project's educational materials available to MISSM for its use and distribution among among interested groups. The aim is to raise awareness among children about the importance of eradicating violence in sport in general and football in particular. Both parties will undertake training and awareness-raising activities to prevent and combat hate speech in sport.

The agreement also opens the door for both institutions to carry out specific joint communication and awareness campaigns in this field.

LALIGA President Javier Tebas said: “At LALIGA, we have been committed for years to eradicating hate and racism in football. Joining forces is a winning strategy, and we at LALIGA are delighted to offer our tools and experience to other institutions to work towards an objective that is, and must be, common. The signing of this agreement marks a turning point in the fight against violence and hate in Spain”.

Elma Saiz, Minister of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration, stated: “Football is a very powerful platform, capable of reaching millions of people, an ideal opportunity to reach a global audience and raise awareness about the importance of combating racism, xenophobia, and, in general, hate speech. The message is clear: zero tolerance for hate speech, which has no place in any part of society”.

“We are going to win this match”, the beginning of the collaboration between LALIGA and MISSM

Earlier this year, LALIGA and the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration launched “We are going to win this match,” the first joint awareness campaign between the two institutions. The plan aimed to promote inclusion and generate debate to eradicate discriminatory behaviour in sport, often fuelled by hate speech.

Throughout the development of the campaign, various informative measures were implemented in the footballing sphere. In doing so, LALIGA once again demonstrated its unequivocal commitment to combating hate, violence, and discrimination. These activities are aligned with the promotion of the LALIGA VS platform and the projects developed by FUNDACIÓN LALIGA.

"We are going to win this match" was 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.