Chelsea teams up with ADL for ‘Say No to Hate’ scheme in 15 UK schools

Chelsea FC has teamed up with the Anti Defamation League to encourage British school pupils to reject racism.

The new ‘Say No To Hate’ programme will be delivered across 15 UK schools after a pilot, and is funded by club owner Roman Abramovich. It will provide lessons and activities who help schoolchildren talk about diversity and tackle discrimination including antisemitism.

The launch of the scheme saw fifty children from US and UK schools for an online workshop, which involved Chelsea player Christian Pulisic,  ADL chief executive, Jonathan Greenblatt, and the chairman of Chelsea, Bruce Buck.

“We have seen how big of an impact ADL’s ‘No Place for Hate’ programme has had in schools in the US and that’s enabled us to create a UK-based version which will be rolled out in our schools here in England,” said Simon Taylor, head of the Chelsea Foundation.

“Our ‘Say No To Hate’ programme will provide children with educational workshops on diversity, inclusion and how discrimination of any kind has no place in football, or society.”

Caterina Rodriguez, who is a director of education programmes at the ADL, said the organisation could not be more excited to help UK students “challenge bias and celebrate inclusion.”

“It is inspiring and humbling to witness these young students leading conversations and efforts to ensure that their schools are places where all students can thrive,” she said.

The initiative comes after the club launched a campaign in 2018, ‘Say No to Antisemitism’, which aims to battle racism in football and wider society.