Leeds United are continuing to show their support for the Premier League’s No Room For Racism campaign, highlighting an ongoing commitment to tackling discrimination, promoting education and celebrating diversity.
Ahead of the club’s dedicated No Room For Racism matchday on Friday against West Ham United, first-team players Joel Piroe and Gabi Gudmundsson joined Club Ambassador Lucas Radebe at Lady Elizabeth Hastings Primary School in Wetherby, supporting students during a poetry workshop focused on the theme Greatness Comes From Everywhere.
The session was being delivered as part of the Leeds United Foundation’s Premier League Primary Stars initiative, with the League rolling out a month-long poetry-writing competition to coincide with Black History Month, tasking young people across the country with creating powerful and meaningful poems that celebrate diversity in all areas of life.
Each school taking part in the competition are able to submit one poem from a student, with an expert judging panel determining the overall competition winner who will then receive a special Premier League Trophy visit to their school.
The trio of Leeds United stars were therefore on hand to support the pupils with their poetry writing, offering any advice and answering any questions whilst also learning more about the work being done through the club’s official charity to promote equality, diversity and inclusion.
Club Ambassador Lucas Radebe spoke to LUTV during the visit and said: “This is a very important programme about great matters that affect us, not just as footballers or as a community, but the aspiring youngsters and this is a great month to reflect and educate.
“Obviously some of us have gone through the experiences, we know the impact it can have. It’s amazing to see the current players getting involved with the developing minds, these kids are looking at them as role models, therefore sharing their values and qualities aside from being footballers, is so important.”
Leeds United striker Joel Piroe said: “It is great that the kids have been learning about this campaign, learning how to deal with situations and give their opinions as well, and I have to say they wrote some really nice poems.”
“I think it is super important that they focus on these things, and as players of Leeds United hopefully we can help encourage the young kids to learn more and inspire them to be better people,” Swedish international Gudmundsson added.
Leeds United are proud to continue supporting the No Room for Racism campaign, and if you would like to find out more information, please head to premierleague.com/noroomforracism.
