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

c/o LALIGA

Committing to the fight against racist and hate speech in sports, LALIGA, FUNDACIÓN LALIGA, and the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration (MISSM) have entered into a partnership.

The partnership sees LALIGA shares its M.O.O.D tool (Monitor para la Observación del Odio en el Deporte - Monitor for the Observation of Hate in Sport) with MISSM to help monitor hate messages on social media.

MISSM will also have at its disposal the material from Futura Afición, the educational project by FUNDACIÓN LALIGA that promotes and fosters positive values in sports among children. They would be able to use and distribute these towards interested groups with the aim of raising awareness among children about the importance of eradicating violence in sport in general and football in particular. In addition, both parties will undertake training and awareness-raising activities to prevent and combat hate speech in sport.

With the partnership in place, this allows the Ministry to potentially optimize its strategy towards hate speech on social media, something they currently have in place through 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.

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

In announcing this partnership, LALIGA President Javier Tebas shares, "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."

On their perspective, Elma Saiz, Minister of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration, states, "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."

This agreement is the latest collaboration LALIGA and MISSM have in place to address this problem. Earlier this year, they launched "We are going to win this match," a plan aimed to promote inclusion and generate debate to eradicate discriminatory behavior in sport, one that is fueled through hate speech. This initiative is part of the 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.

Various informative measures have been installed in place, with the Spanish top-flight having their own LALIGA VS platform, as well as the projects in place with FUNDACIÓN LALIGA.