SAFC legends Gary Bennett and Kevin Ball join Sunderland children to show racism the red card

The former Black Cats skippers, who clocked up over 700 appearances for the club between them, were at Valley Road Academy in Hendon as part of the Show Racism the Red Card campaign to eradicate racism and promote diversity both on the football pitch and in society.

The former players chatted to children at the school as well as taking part in a whole school assembly ahead of a day of anti-racism and discrimination activities taking place on Friday (November 29) with Year 5 and 6 pupils.

Gary has been a patron of the Show Racism the Red Card campaign for over 25 years and in 2022 received an MBE in recognition of his work with the charity.

Gary arrived at Sunderland in 1984 from Cardiff City at a time when the game was rife with racism.

Speaking at the event, Gary said: “In terms of dealing with racism things have progressed greatly in the game since I arrived at Sunderland in 1984.

“When I arrived I was only the second black player to play for the club.

“But it’s not just on the pitch and terraces where things have progressed. The city itself is now massively diverse with people from many different ethnicities and backgrounds.

“However, there is still work to do to get the message out there and it’s something we need to keep working on on a daily basis.”

Part of Gary’s role is going into schools with the Show Racism the Red Card team to speak about his own experiences and look to educate children on the importance of embracing diversity.

He added: “It’s very important to get into schools with our anti-racism message. Young people are our future and hopefully they will be able to take the message on.

“Education is key.”

It was a sentiment shared by Show Racism the Red Card campaign worker David McArdle, who was helping to deliver the assembly.

He said: “It’s vital to get into schools and educate the children about racism. Hopefully they will pass the message in to their peers and it will get into the mindset of this generation.

“SAFC is a pillar of the community and having former legends like Gary and Kevin getting involved in events like today really does help to engage the children.”

Chief executive officer of the IRIS Learning Trust, Debra Walker, contacted Show Racism the Red Card to invite the charity come in and work with the pupils to help “reassure the children” following the disorder which took place in the city during the summer.

She said: “We have a very diverse school population, with 21 different languages spoken and English is not the first language of 50% of our pupils.

“A number of our families were effected by the disorder which took place and we want to assure all of our children they are safe in our school and don’t feel ostracised.

“Football, and having past and current players and captains visit the school is a fantastic hook to get our children involved in this project.

“It helps to deliver a massive message about where were are proud to be from and going to in the future.”

The message certainly seems to have had the desired effect on the children who were in the assembly.

Year 6 pupil Joel Adeyanju, 10, said: “I love football and it’s good to have an SAFC legend like Gary Bennett in our school.

“At the end of the day, we are all human beings and should be treated equally.”

Classmate Millie Dunlop, 10, added: “Everyone should be treated the the same. The colour of our skin isn’t important, it’s what’s on the inside that counts.”

SAFC have dedicated tomorrow’s (November 26) home match with West Bromwich Albion to the campaign in which the players will be wearing Show Racism the Red Card t-shirts during the warm-up.