'We use football as a development tool': Sheffield charity Football Unites, Racism Divides celebrates 30 years of breaking barriers

For three decades now, Sheffield-based FURD has harnessed the power of football to challenge racism and discrimination.

The youth and social inclusion charity launched in the mid 1990s with a clear goal away from the pitch – to bring people together and break down barriers. Thirty years on, that’s still at the core of ‘Football Unites, Racism Divides’.

“It started with a small group of concerned people – Sheffield United fans and youth and community workers in the area,” explains one of the CEOs, 57-year-old Simon Hyacinth.

“There was an influx of football fans converging in and around Bramall Lane, which is quite a multi-ethnic area of the city and there were issues around clashes with young people and the community not feeling safe. The group felt there was a need to address that and to develop the links between the club and its local communities.”

“Very quickly we evolved into a youth and community project,” adds fellow CEO Mehrun Ahmed, 50. “But always using football as a development tool.”

To so many, football is a source of identity, and there are countless examples of the sport bringing together people of all backgrounds, getting behind a club.

What FURD does is use that power of sport, education and community to build understanding, tackle racism and create spaces “where everyone feels they belong”.

The charity delivers projects and campaigns that promote equality, inclusion, and unity — both on and off the pitch.

Despite being a Sheffield organisation, its influence has reached far and wide; the charity has worked with the likes of UEFA, FIFA, The FA, the Premier League and the English Football League, as well as Kick It Out, a football equality and inclusion organisation, and the Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) network.

A notable moment for Simon was when FURD representatives attended the 2006 World Cup in Germany. He recalls: “We took our inflatable football pitch, organised games and activities that brought different fan groups together, and helped to spread anti-discriminatory and inclusive messages.

"That was great for the organisation, but it was also great for a number of our young people that had progressed from being participants (in our projects) into volunteering and got the opportunity to go with us to Europe.”

Youth involvement is core to FURD. The charity offer various workshops, mentoring programmes and activities designed to build confidence and life skills and support independence, stability and employment.

Mehrun says: “Young people are the bread and butter, what we’ve been trying to do is build up their confidence, their skills, self-esteem and give them qualifications. Then they can go out, become future leaders, community workers, social workers - that’s our intention.”

​Sharing that same idea, Simon adds: “The aim is to increase young people’s voices as well as their ability to influence things that directly affect them.”

​Whilst the charity has achieved great things in the last 30 years, it has also been subject to many challenges.

When located at The Stables building on Sharrow Lane in the early 2000s, its building caught fire, forcing FURD to move locations to the Park Centre on Duke Street in the city centre.

It sadly meant the charity “lost contact” with some of the young people it had supported as it became “too far for them” to travel.

In 2013, FURD moved to its current home, at the U-Mix Centre in Lowfield. Mehrun says: “It was really exciting to move to a brand new centre and a place that we could call home.

"Belonging for me, and I think for a lot of people - it doesn’t necessarily come from the building. It comes from the people within the building. It comes from the relationships you build with young people and how they feel comfortable.”

Now, Mehrun says the “biggest threat” to the charity is funding, with many projects supported only on a short-term basis which “doesn’t allow for long-term strategising”.

Simon says: “We generate some income from the building in terms of hiring it out, and we get small pops of funding from the local authority at times, and from places like the Country Football Association. It’s a bit of a mixed bag, a bit of a jigsaw puzzle.”

Despite their setbacks, their mission stays a top priority - empowering individuals with the skills, opportunities and agency to lead positive social change.

Both Simon and Mehrun agree that “the best way” to operate is by “bringing people together, breaking down barriers, and breaking down people’s negative perceptions of others”.

To celebrate 30 years, the charity hosted a dinner at Bramall Lane earlier this month, with former participants, staff, volunteers, community organisations, partners and special guests from across football all in attendance.

It was an event that aimed to reflect on FURD’s remarkable journey and look ahead to its role in the future.

What began as a grassroots organisation has transformed into a pioneering charity that has championed community work and social change in Sheffield and across Europe.

Mehrun says: “Working at FURD is not a job. You’re doing it because you believe in what you're trying to achieve...

"We are proud to reflect on a journey that has used sport and community action to bridge divides and change lives.”

For more information, visit furd.org