Club legend Lucas Radebe and current star Largie Ramazani recently dropped by a Foundation-run event at Elland Road, engaging with youngsters and raising awareness about Black History Month and the importance of tackling the issue of racism within football and wider society.
Held in the club’s media suite at Elland Road, local children had a chance to learn from the duo about their experiences of racism and discrimination in the game, discuss about what approaches they think the sport can take and also have a chance to ask other questions, get shirts signed and pose for photographs.
Speaking after the event, Radebe, in West Yorkshire as part of a visit which involved watching Friday night’s match against Sheffield United, explained the importance of educating younger generations on such important topics.
“This means a lot to me coming back to Elland Road,” the Chief told LUTV. “Engaging and interacting with the kids is encouraging, to be honest, to see the aspiring footballers or aspiring leaders of tomorrow take the responsibility in their communities to deal with racism.
“I think it brings a good understanding and an impact to show that at least that something is being done to kick racism out of the game and they get a great understanding. It is generational and I think the awareness makes a big impact and a huge difference.
“For Largie to be here, I think it will create a long-lasting relationship in their minds and surely they will take into consideration what Largie had to say about the racism in the game. It is absolutely brilliant and great that their favourite club, Leeds United, are going forward with that and they are raising the flag about racism and keeping it out.”
Winger Ramazani, who joined the club in the summer, has experienced discrimination in his career, so was pleased to see the hard work being done at grassroots level to try and eradicate racism across communities.
“We have been talking to kids about Black History Month. I was present with Lucas and they have asked us a few questions, which was great. They spoke about Black History Month and showed us little clips about mine and Lucas’ careers and it was great.
“I think it is very important, obviously. There are young people that are suffering discrimination and obviously they know from young they can fight it, they can speak up and just help others in the world.”
Important information about Black History Month can be found HERE. More about the Leeds United Foundation can be found HERE.
