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Townsend says football ‘doesn’t care enough’ about racism in lower leagues
Troy Townsend during the Kick It Out 30th anniversary event at Wembley Stadium, London, August 8, 2023

FOOTBALL “doesn’t care enough” about racism lower down the pyramid, according to Kick It Out’s former head of player engagement Troy Townsend.

Townsend said he had left his role with the anti-discrimination charity last year because he found it “draining” not to get results.

Townsend, speaking on the latest episode of All Out Football’s In The Mixer podcast, highlighted what he saw as a lack of coverage of an alleged racist incident at a League One match between Exeter and Reading.

“Football doesn’t care enough,” he said.

“It’s down the leagues, it will go away, and there is no real care about the player, the victim, or the people who may have heard the language in and around.

“If it was a Premier League game, you would hear about it. The EFL, Premier League, PFA, and the FA have so much responsibility in this space, and I think they’ve let far too many people down.”

Townsend left Kick It Out in June 2024 after almost 13 years with the charity.

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