In early January, Arsenal Football Club demonstrated their continued support for the anti-knife crime movement by collaborating with Adidas to launch their ‘No More Red’ campaign.
In 2021, London saw the highest number of teenage murders in a year since records began, the majority of which involved knife attacks.
‘No More Red’ seeks to reverse this upward trend in attacks and forms part of a long-term commitment made by the club to tackle the root causes of youth violence while also providing safe spaces and more opportunities for young people.
In their FA cup tie against Nottingham Forest on 9th January, Arsenal played in an all-white kit for the first time to help publicise the campaign.
Former Arsenal player, Ian Wright, showed his support for the movement and presented the ten shirts worn during the Nottingham Forest game to organisations working within the community to address the issues raised.
Football players have often come under scrutiny whenever they discuss or get involved with any political issues. For example, in December, Gary Linekar received abuse on Twitter for calling out Boris Johnson over the parties he attended while lockdown measures were in place across the country.
Marcus Rashford, Manchester United forward, has also received criticism for his ongoing efforts to make sure children who receive free school meals are fed over the holidays and has frequently been told to “stick to football.”
Issues like feeding hungry children and tackling knife crime are not, or at least should not be, issues of politics – they are issues of humanity. They should be beyond politics, as it is in everyone’s best interest to solve them.
But if people feel that the government are not taking enough action to combat social issues, it makes sense to look for other well-known figures, such as football stars, to use their platform for good.
With this in mind, we should be supporting these football players, like Marcus Rashford, instead of tearing them apart.
Well-recognised sports professionals have a duty of care to the people who attend their games and wear their shirts.
They are in the public eye and have many young people look up to them.
So if their idols are using their platforms to support positive social change, this can help make a difference within local communities.
Their large followings on social media mean that they couldn’t be in a better position to get important messages across.
Marcus Rashford, Ian Wright, and all the other exemplary football stars who are doing their best to give back to their communities are some of the most outstanding public figures that the UK has, and I think we should treasure them.