“The silent majority have to open their mouths. Racism is only perpetrated by a tiny minority in football. The rest of us have to send out a clear message against it,” said Hans Florin, Director of Security of the Organising Committee (OC), in Berlin on Friday. FIFA’s midday briefing on the day of the Opening Game was dedicated to fan and visitor support and the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ anti-racism programme.
The 2006 FIFA World Cup OC, headed by Franz Beckenbauer, has invested four million Euros in its multi-faceted fan support programme alone. “We want the fans to feel completely safe as they make their way around. We are distributing a free Fanguide at the Fan Fests and have been providing information in four languages since January via our website Fanguide2006.org which is linked to FIFAworldcup.com,” says Florin. “We are not aiming at those fans who have already received all their information from the travel agency. We are targeting the backpacking fans.”




Stationary and mobile fan embassies have also been put in place by the OC. “We want to be where the fans are,” explained Thomas Schneider of the Koordinationsstelle Fanprojekte (KOS). Embassies can also be found at other popular locations in the various city centres. KOS, which has been active since 1993, was commissioned by the OC both in an advisory capacity and to assist with fan support. “The individual stages of our work might look unspectacular, but overall it makes a big difference.”
The fourth pillar of the programme, alongside the website, Fanguide and embassies is the anti-racism campaign in collaboration with FARE. Piara Powar, Director of the English branch of the initiative Football Representatives Against Racism, explains: “The mere fact that so many nations and cultures are coming together is important to us. We want to play a part in ensuring that this incredibly positive aspect of the World Cup is highlighted as much as possible.”

Source: http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com

####