London, UK (November 2022) – In response to the racist abuse several of the England players received at the end of the Euros in 2021, Show Racism the Red Card (SRtRC), a charity which aims to combat racism in our society, and McCann London have collaborated to create ‘Fabric of England.’ An initiative celebrating the rich diversity and cultural tapestry of the England football team that aims to educate people and start a conversation about immigration within the UK. Immigration has shaped the modern game of football, and without it it’s no exaggeration to say that the England squad wouldn’t be what it is today. Of the 39 that helped England qualify for the World Cup, almost all of them have migration stories*. Using this insight, the project centrepiece is a specially designed football shirt that showcases the many nations that make up the rich cultural tapestry of the England squad. The shirt resembles a ‘patchwork quilt’ design, created from the England shirt and 13 other national football team shirts.
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England fans with multi/dual heritage were cast from around the country to model the shirt and share their personal stories, like Sonia from Shoreditch who has an Italian and Iranian heritage. She said, “I’ve lived in London for 3 years and what makes it so vibrant is its diversity - it doesn’t matter what your heritage or background is, when it comes to the World Cup it feels like the whole nation unites together as one”.
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The nations featured include Republic of Ireland, Jamaica, Nigeria, Scotland, Northern Ireland, USA, Canada, Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago, Guyana, St Kitts & Nevis, St Vincent & The Grenadines, and New Zealand. It has been well documented that Raheem Sterling and Kyle Walker are descendants of the Windrush Generation, but there are also less widely known stories about players such as Ben Chilwell whose families came from New Zealand and Fikayo Tomori who was born in Canada to Nigerian parents. Another part of the England contingent including Declan Rice, Jack Grealish and England’s talisman Harry Kane, whose family roots trace back to Ireland. Each one with a unique story to share.
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A limited run of shirts will be used as an educational tool by SRtRC as they go into schools to talk to children. The campaign runs across SRtRC’s social channels and hopes to support their goals to eradicate racism within professional and grass-roots football.
