Tim Howard says FIFA should not ‘dilute' anti-racism campaigns, players ‘have a choice' over White House visits

New York Times

a day ago

Tim Howard, the most-capped goalkeeper in the history of the United States men's national team, has urged FIFA not to water down its campaigns against racism after the sport's global governing body appeared to roll back its messaging during the Club World Cup in the United States.
Contrary to previous tournaments, including the men's World Cup in Qatar in 2022 and the women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2023, FIFA has elected not to use videos or signage within its stadiums or on social media to promote its 'no racism' or 'no discrimination' campaign, while there has also been no sign of FIFA's Unite for Inclusion campaign.
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Howard, in an interview with The Athletic, said: 'When it comes to racism in the game and racism in America, unfortunately, it is alive and well. For a long time, we gained a lot of traction in (progressing), but certainly we have gone backwards and and you feel the tensions.
'As for racism and campaigns, there's never a time when we shouldn't amplify the message. If you have a campaign that's important, that should be important everywhere and always.'
FIFA is instead using the slogan from its less specific 'Football Unites the World' campaign during the tournament. FIFA did show signage for its 'no racism' campaign for one day on June 18 — which it said was to mark International Day for Countering Hate Speech — but this followed The Athletic reporting on how the campaigns had been missing from the opening days of the tournament.
Multiple campaign groups then criticised FIFA for the rollback. FIFA did not respond when asked if the political climate in the U.S. — where President Trump has sought to cut the government's diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs — has played any part in its decision but pointed to FIFA's statutes, which say the organisation is neutral on matters of politics. FIFA insists it has a zero-tolerance position on racism and discrimination.
Kick It Out, a leading UK anti-discrimination charity, said the changes were 'concerning' and called on FIFA to reverse its decision. Evan Whitfield, the chair of the Human Rights Soccer Alliance (HRSA), an American group of former players, NGOs, lawyers and grassroots soccer organisations established this year, said the campaigns 'need to be consistently underlined to the world.'
He added: 'A basic message of football unites the world doesn't achieve this clearly enough. And it certainly doesn't reflect the need for messaging among those who are coming new to soccer as a sport, or seeing a global soccer tournament for the first time. If FIFA can have strong messaging in Russia, Qatar, New Zealand, and Australia, then the same should apply in the United States.'
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Howard says players should take the lead if FIFA isn't.
'The power is also with the players and the players certainly have a responsibility to carry that message forward, on their own, whether FIFA's doing it or not,' he says. 'There will always be opportunities to take a stand and to do what's right, whether that is an official campaign or not. It (racism) needs to be eradicated. It's not going to happen anytime soon because of how divided this country currently is, but hopefully one day we get there.'
FIFA confirmed last week that the organization's disciplinary committee had opened proceedings against CF Pachuca player Gustavo Cabral after the Argentine was accused of racially abusing the Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger during a Club World Cup group stage fixture.
And last night, supporters at Monterrey's Club World Cup last-16 game against Borussia Dortmund were warned that the game could be suspended after homophobic chants were heard repeatedly during the second half.
Asked whether he would like FIFA to be stronger in its proactive messaging at next year's World Cup, which will be hosted across the U.S., Canada and Mexico, Howard said: 'If there is a campaign, it shouldn't be diluted. So again, it's on the players, the ones who are in the arena, and the supporters, to push back if they feel like there hasn't been enough of that campaign pushed forward.
'So next year is another opportunity to do that. Whether they do so is to be seen, but certainly we can keep across that messaging.'
This month, two USMNT players, Weston McKennie and Timothy Weah, were part of a Juventus group invited to the White House on the day of the Italian team's Club World Cup match against Al Ain in Washington, D.C.
It culminated in surreal scenes as the Juventus owner, executives and players stood behind President Trump as he discussed issues such as whether to strike Iran, his administration's travel bans and asked the group whether a woman could get into their team.
Weah subsequently said: 'They told us that we have to go and I had no choice but to go. I was caught by surprise. It was a bit weird. When he started talking about the politics… it's kind of like, 'I just want to play football, man'.'
Howard, who has visited the White House under previous presidents, says he would have gone along out of respect for the institution but also added that 'you always have a choice.'
'I've had this conversation with some athlete friends of mine,' Howard says, when asked if he would have accepted the invitation to Trump's White House. Howard has previously said he believes Trump to be racist.
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'The institution of the White House as an American is awesome,' Howard says. 'I would encourage anybody under any president, Republican, Democrat, or otherwise, if you have the opportunity to go to the White House, I would certainly take it. But if you choose not to, by all means, you have a choice. There are different reasons or specific moments that you should go or not go. Some of those feel tense and some of them feel exciting. You have to make your decision based on that.'
Howard was talking to The Athletic as part of an initiative led by Abbott, a healthcare firm that has partnered with Real Madrid as part of the Abbott Dream Team program, which sees youngsters try out in cities across the U.S. this summer for the opportunity to then travel to Spain to train under Real Madrid coaches and learn about sports nutrition from the club's medical team. Try-outs remain in Washington, D.C., Chicago and Los Angeles. Howard was present at the tryouts in Philadelphia, which he described as 'a million miles an hour' with kids who were 'hungry and excited' to access an opportunity in sport.
Access to soccer in the United States at youth level has long been a source of debate and consternation. FIFA president Gianni Infantino has criticized the 'pay-to-play' model for many young soccer players in the U.S., saying it 'must be free' for children to play. Former USMNT midfielder Clint Dempsey last week told The Athletic his family went into debt to help him make it in the game. 'We need to make it easier for people who are less fortunate to have the chance to go chase their dreams,' Dempsey said.
Howard says he is an 'incredible place' to discuss the issue because of his own experiences.
'I got lucky,' Howard says. 'The pay-to-play model is broken and it needs fixing or revamping. But it is not going anywhere, so that's the other issue. Then it is, 'How do you create parameters around that and how do you create opportunities around that where we can be more inclusive?'.
'People are asking, 'When is the U.S. gonna produce a World Cup champion? When is the U.S. gonna produce more top-quality talent?'. If we keep ostracizing people on a socioeconomic level, then we're not. I went through it and I was lucky because I had people who looked the other way.
'My family didn't have the money. Clint Dempsey's parents, who are amazing, drove him hundreds and hundreds of miles and spent countless money that they didn't have to give him opportunities. In my case, people were like, 'This kid's really good, let's somehow get him on our team and we'll pay for him'.'
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'And then I raised a strong young woman in my daughter who is going off to the University of Tennessee to play soccer. She comes from a very privileged background and her parents have money but it's not a system that works for everyone and so we need to figure out a better way.'
Howard says there is a risk that young people will turn away from soccer if opportunities are not made more affordable.
He says: 'I think about myself growing up and other families and the communities that I know. I'm talking about spending tens of thousands of dollars. My daughter played ECNL (Elite Clubs National League). I can show you the receipt if you want. Tens of thousands of dollars for traveling, all the rest of it. When I look at some of the families, and so many of the communities across this country, and the list of priorities on what bills need to be paid, youth soccer is not one of them, so the kids are gonna miss out.'