Port Vale Football Club's pioneering Valiants Against Racism campaign continue to work hard to eradicate racism from Vale Park and to encourage greater participation in the clubs activities amongst local ethnic minority communities.

Most fans will know about the VAR campaign through their work around the club's annual anti-racist match-day where volunteers give out thousands of stickers and magazines and where our local youngsters have taken part in banner parades, penalty shoot-outs and dance exhibitions.

In October 2005, VAR also sponsored a local multi-cultural football tournament and held a trophy presentations at the club to reward young players from a range of ethnic backgrounds.

More recently, the VAR campaign has been working hard to secure funding to deliver a range of initiatives designed to combat racism and promote cultural awareness and diversity.

VAR has been succesful in a bid for £4,500 to the Nike Stand Up Speak Up campaign to develop an educational website facility and a membership scheme for existing and future fans of the club during the 2006-2007 season.

VAR will also deliver anti-racist and diversity training to young players and administrative staff at the club as part of this package.

On Saturday 8th April at the match against SwanseaCity the VAR campaign will launch a new anti-racist hotline number so that fans can report racist incidents at ValePark.

VAR has received £1,250 from 'Partners Assuring a Safer Staffordshire' and in-kind support from Port Vale FC, the North Staffs REC and the national Kick It Out campaign for new pitch-side hoardings, posters and key fobs to publicise this new approach to challenging racism. VAR volunteers will distribute 5,000 key fobs to fans attending the game.

These activities form part of a wider programme of work for the VAR campaign which is working to help Port Vale FC achieve the 'Kick It Out Racial Equality Standard for Professional Clubs' during the summer.

In doing so, Port Vale FC will become one of only a handful of clubs nationally (and the first in the West Midlands) to have achieve this important accreditation.

Vales Chairman Bill Bratt comments: 'The work of the VAR Group at ValePark has progressed steadily over recent years and we as a Club are proud to be close to gaining the national " Kick It Out Racial Equality Standard for Professional Clubs"

Chairman of VAR, Steve Bradbury adds: 'The next few months are exciting times for VAR and our activities will impact across the club and amongst its supporters.

We want to establish the Port Vale as a model of best practice in dealing with racism and promoting inclusion. There are strong signs that we are in moving in the right direction in this respect'.