TRINIDAD AND Tobago Football Association (TTFA) General Secretary Sheldon Phillips has been appointed by Concacaf as one of the confederation’s Diversity Officers.
The Diversity Officers will play a key role in the implementation of Concacaf’s ‘Protocol for racist incidents during matches’ providing expertise and support to Match Commissioners.
The protocol passed by the Concacaf Executive Committee on December 13, outlined a three-stage method for dealing with any serious racist and/or discriminatory behaviour in football stadiums, such as racist chants, insults, screams and banners.
This protocol is part of the Confederation’s Embrace Diversity campaign, launched during the 2013 Concacaf Gold Cup, which will include strong educational initiatives throughout 2014 and beyond. The Embrace Diversity campaign was created to provide a strong, recognised, effective and influential voice to promote inclusion and tolerance within the football community and society.
Phillips will attend a training session on the Protocol and the role of Concacaf Diversity Officers will be held in Los Angeles on March 11 before the Champions League game between LA Galaxy and Tijuana on March 12.
On his appointment, Phillips commented: “I am honoured to be selected as a Concacaf Diversity Officer and be part of the overall approach by Concacaf under president (Jeffrey) Webb to make the game more inclusive and live up to the ideal of football for all.”
Webb added: “we congratulate our 41 Member Associations for safeguarding a culture of diversity within football. Even though the history of Concacaf shows a great track record when it comes to diversity on the field, the Confederation is committed to creating standards to continue promoting good practice across the region.”