Ms Amina Moustafa:

SARI uses the unique power of sport, through a bespoke set of programmes, to promote inclusion, educate through experiential learning on the impact of discrimination and show how fostering relationships that challenge racism and all forms of discrimination builds a more diverse, secure and happier society. We have been working towards this since 1997. We need to do more and we need more resources to do it. Sport is a special gateway to the hearts and minds of nearly all citizens.

My journey with SARI began when I was 17 and joined its Hijabs and Hat-Tricks programme, which was set up to encourage Muslim women to play football after FIFA lifted the hijab ban in 2014. Since then, I have experienced and learned first-hand how sport has the power to promote social inclusion, create a sense of belonging and challenge racism and discrimination.

Over the past two decades, Ireland has become an increasingly diverse community, with people of many different ethnicities, cultures, languages and religions. SARI proactively celebrates this but understands, too, that it brings challenges, some of which have the potential to be manipulated to cause profound harm. Twenty-six years on from being set up to address an increase in racist incidents, SARI continues to leverage sport to tackle racism. Our programmes today use sport as a more proactive means of building a positive sense of inclusion and diversity.

We are involved in the education of the youngest among us in a way that will help them to not fear difference but embrace it. The aim is to remove any notion of stigmatisation or discrimination in the minds and hearts of future generations. We are also a resource for sporting organisations to foster sport as a special means of tackling racism and other forms of discrimination many of which are rooted in persistent socio-economic inequality Our football for unity festival, now in its third year, demonstrates how we establish long-term relationships with local stakeholders such as the NEIC Dublin, the Government initiative that oversees the social and economic regeneration of the north east inner city of Dublin. What we do there we can replicate across all corners of Ireland.

SARI works consistently at community level to build the imperatives around inclusion through minority ethnic communities in sport and in civil society. Sport is a informal environment where we can influence the development of young leaders. Through sport, we open dialogue safely to discuss and challenge racism, amplifying voices that are often absent from decision making spaces. By actively engaging and working with policy, we can uncover hidden barriers to participation in sport and wider society.

Our Hijabs and Hat-Tricks programme, in which I was involved, was set up to encourage young Muslim women to play football. Stereotypical representations of Muslim women have been shown to impact on their experience and access to sport. This programme was designed with the involvement of Muslim women like myself, with the participants making decisions on many aspects of the programme such as the design of the football kit and the selection of training times. Cultural and religious considerations such as the diverse interpretations of modesty for Muslim women meant that we were able to offer a kit that is inclusive for all. This is not only relevant to understanding sports participation patterns but also the diversity of identity for Muslim women, and how stereotypes and biases can manifest in institutions and their policies. How the programme was created is one example that can be deployed in other areas of discrimination. It is a case study of sorts.

Today, well into the 21st century, we recognise how essential it is to have a proactive approach to promote social inclusion and cohesion. This is best done through the State education system. In recent years, SARI has been working with schools and teachers on using sport as a means of teaching children critical values of respect, diversity and inclusion. SARI is especially equipped to do this through sport and to work with the educational establishment on the incorporation of these programmes across the system. We are not reaching anything like the potential of this because of limited capacity and resources. The one thing above all else we want this committee to take from this meeting is the need to resource this so sport, which after all is a part of the whole education cycle, can be leveraged to encourage the youngest among us to understand the values of respect and understanding and fully embracing all their fellow citizens, whatever their distinguishing features. This is how we can move the dial forward so that, in the future, discrimination is not part of our vocabulary anymore.

Sport Ireland launched its first diversity and inclusion policy in May 2022. This made a commitment towards promoting diversity and inclusion in sport. However, there is a great deal of work still to be done. There is an urgent need to recognise the role sport can play in promoting inclusion in our local communities and funding is required to scale up this effort. Through the collaborative design and delivery of educational programmes at local, regional and national levels, SARI will continue to support communities in becoming more inclusive spaces for all, by embracing difference and celebrating diversity through sport.