FLAF is a group by, and for, football lads and lasses. We are not a liberal pressure group, nor are we affiliated to any political party, organisation, or other campaign. There are plenty of those around for people to choose from. Our bottom line is anti-fascism and football. For us the two go together, and that is our basis for existing. If you’re an anti-fascist then excellent, but if you’re not a football fan or are thinking of forcing yourself to become a football fan, for the sake of joining us, then there are other groups out there for you.
We chose the term ‘Against Fascism’ deliberately because it implies a militant response to all instances of discrimination at football and in wider society. It is also the case that the far-right has politically evolved and see less currency in overt racism, even widening their scope to include some people of colour in their ranks. Curbing their own racist instincts only confirms that this is a long-term fascist political project that has the active participation of the entire European far-right.
It’s time now for those fans who oppose the rise of the right at football to stand up and be counted. As well as mobilising against their marches, we need to counter them at our own clubs, by whatever means is necessary, from leaflet and sticker campaigns to gentle persuasion.
Since establishing the group a few days ago, we’ve had a lot of enquiries about merchandise, which we will be producing to help us establish a national profile. Our approach is a co-operative one, we encourage autonomy at a local level. You can use the adapted club crests with the FLAF name on them at each club as you see fit, sticking within the guideline of no other political symbols with our name on them. We recommend using the crest logos locally on a non-profit basis to promote the campaign and put the proceeds back into developing more activities at your club. We will operate to the same standards of co-operation and non-profit at a national level. Co-operation, respect, honesty… and unity in action.
No-one involved in the formation of this campaign is interested in recruiting you to any other organisation, supporters campaign, or political party. We have no political affiliation. The basic message is: football, anti-fascism & working class unity. It’s the things that we have in common that bind us, at our clubs and in our communities, that’s what differentiates us from the haters and those who seek to divide us. Our reason for launching this initiative is based on the alarming and rapid growth of the far-right and fascist groups, particularly among football firms and other supporters. We aim to stop them, but first we must build a base of support for an anti-fascist identity at every club. This is a struggle that needs all of us to work together towards a common goal – but what a goal it will be when we beat them!
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* FLAF is about building a progressive alternative to the recent far-right revival among football firms in Britain.
* The page is run by football fans for football fans.
* We oppose all forms of racism & discrimination.
* We welcome all progressive anti-racist & anti-fascist football supporters to our cause.