Sky Sports and Kick It Out have extended their partnership for another year, as both organisations maintain a long-standing commitment to making football more welcoming.
The one-year extension takes the partnership into a sixth year and will continue as a £1m investment in a mix of cash and value-in-kind support to help tackle discrimination and create career opportunities in football.
Over the last year, Sky Sports has supported several Kick It Out initiatives and programmes, including the launch of Kick It Out’s new five-year ‘Football United’ strategy, the unveiling of its new partnership with Guinness 0.0, its online education platform The Academy and our Raise Your Game programme, which gives young people from underrepresented communities a chance to take their first steps in football.
Kick It Out’s new ‘Football United’ strategy kicked off the season in September with leading Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville present for the launch event at Team Lewis in Battersea, which Sky Sports News presenter Bela Shah hosted.
Bela played a key role in mentoring two Raise Your Game delegates Elliott-Jay Henry and Razaq Folarin, who featured as co-hosts for their first time after meeting Bela at Sky Sports Studios in Osterley. Razaq said of Bela’s advice: “Everything she said was so valuable to me.”
Sky also helped showcase Kick It Out’s new partnership with Guinness 0.0 to make pubs more welcoming, with Sky Sports pundit Clinton Morrison the main draw at the launch in a Greene King pub in Westminster. The partnership will help train thousands of Greene King staff on how to make pubs more inclusive and spot football-related discrimination.
Sky Sports News reporter Dharmesh Sheth hosted Kick It Out’s Media Raise Your Game event at UCFB’s Wembley campus in November, with producer Maryam Chaudhary and reporter Chris Reidy delivering a workshop to a record number of attendees.
In addition, Sky Sports helped produce a documentary about Kick It Out founder Lord Herman Ouseley, who passed away in October 2024, to educate younger audiences about his impact since he created the organisation over 30 years ago.
The film was shown on Sky Sports and at England’s game against Latvia in March 2025 to coincide with what would have been Lord Ouseley’s 80th birthday. Sky’s creative team also provided digital support to highlight his impact on LED screens around Wembley Stadium.
Funded through Sky’s £30m commitment to tackle structural inequality, Sky’s multimillion-pound investment in Kick It Out has supported several other initiatives during the last six years.
They include eight candidates graduating through a joint scholarship programme with the University of Liverpool Management School that provides students from underrepresented backgrounds with the opportunity to earn an MBA in Football Industries. It also includes ongoing investment into Kick It Out’s digital learning platform, The Academy, which has delivered educational content on equality, diversity and inclusion to almost 5,000 people.
Hollie Varney, COO of Kick It Out, said: “Our partnership with Sky has grown over the past six years to provide unique education and development opportunities for underrepresented communities in football. This goes to the heart of our new ‘Football United’ strategy where we want to see the industry be more reflective of the talent which is all around us, both on and off the pitch, and ensure everyone in the game stands up to discrimination.
“We’re hugely grateful to Sky for its ongoing support and we look forward to working further together to help us realise this vision.”
David Carrigan, Group Director of Diversity, Inclusion and Wellbeing at Sky said: “Kick It Out has been a vital partner in driving forward a more inclusive and representative game. Extending this partnership reflects our long-term commitment to tackling structural inequality in football – not just through funding, but by using Sky’s platform and influence to create opportunities, amplify voices and challenge discrimination wherever it exists.
Together, we’re building a game that truly reflects the diversity of the communities it serves.”
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