Conmebol (South American Football Confederation) has created a working group led by former Brazilian role Ronaldo ‘phenomenon’ to combat racism, discrimination and violence in football, announced on Thursday (27) the president of the entity, Alejandro Domínguez.
“We don’t want a debate about the past, but to discuss the future,” said Conmebol leader after a prolonged meeting with South American football legends and representatives of governments of the ten South American nations members of the sports organization.
The ‘task force’ is composed by former Secretary-General of FIFA (International Football Federation), Fatma Samoura, and Sergio Marchi, president of FIFPro, the International Federation of Professional Football Associations representing about 65,000 soccer players worldwide.
The meeting was attended by, among others, former Argentine players Carlos Tévez, Oscar Ruggeri, Claudio Caniggia, Uruguayan Diego Lugano, Brazilian Mauro Silva and the Paraguayans Roberto Acuña and Rogelio Delgado.
The working group, which will be made up of other soccer idols and various renowned jurists, “will work exclusively on the development and implementation of strategies to eradicate racism, discrimination and violence in South American football,” Domínguez explained.
Participants will dedicate themselves to addressing the problem “with a comprehensive focus and concrete solutions to prevent and punish to eradicate these behaviors that affect both sport and society,” he said.
The Assumption Meeting was attended by the presidents of the affiliated federations, ambassadors, ministers, government representatives, as well as former players and soccer associations.
“I leave here with the feeling that we took a very important step to fight together in search of joint solutions. We, Football Legends, are here to help with our image and our commitment,” said Ronaldo, world champion in 1994 and 2002.
In turn, Domínguez stressed that the South American Football Confederation applies “the most severe penalties established at the international level, in alignment with FIFA, UEFA and the world’s leading leagues.”
From now on, the task force will be in charge of managing a list of people prevented from entering the stadiums, which will include those involved in acts of racism.
Similarly, new educational programs will be implemented to players, referees, clubs and fans, with the aim of promoting the awareness and prevention of racism in football.
