By Emmanuel Samuel
With an estimated global fanbase of 3.5 billion viewers, Football remains the most spectated sport in the 21st century. Famed for its diverse and heavily inclusive fanbase, the sport knows no bounds. From the teenage fans in Hispanic countries to the adult fans in Africa, no sporting activity can boast more inclusivity than what football has fostered over the years.
Beside the fanbase’s perspective is the players’ perspective. Most football leagues and competitions feature players from the 7 continents of the globe, from all races, from all walks of life. On the dull side, this level of diversity had long raised the intricacy of racial discrimination within the sports.
The earliest documented reports of racism in football dates way back to the 19th century, with the emergence of black players in Britain. Coincidentally, one of the first recorded examples involved Arthur Wharton, a man still considered the world’s first black professional footballer.
Over the decades, there have been several accounts of racial disparity in football from top leagues and competitions in Italy, Spain, England and France. In the same vein, almost every reputable football league and competition in the world has one anti-racism campaign or the other, aimed at emphasizing the importance of a sport without racial bounds.
Some of the most prominent anti-racism campaigns include the English Premier League’s No Room for Racism, launched in 2019. In Spain, there is an annual VS Racism campaign in partnership with EA Sports FC. Moving to Italy, the Lega Serie A partners with the UNAR to facilitate the Keep Racism Out campaign.
Evidently, thought, resources and dedication has gone into making the global football scene free of racial discrimination. While there has been significant progress judging by the last decade, the problem of racism in football seems indefatigable, even in 2026. Recent reports of racial outbursts from fans towards players have cast widespread doubts as to the true progress football is making as a non-racial sport.
Nigerian international and striker, Tolu Arokodare, unfortunately is one of the most recently abused players on the racial topic. Following a penalty miss against Crystal Palace in a Premier League game on the 22nd of February, Tolu’s social media accounts were washed with a series of racial slurs and name-calling from seeming members of Wolves’s fanbase.
Writing on his Instagram story, the striker expressed that “It’s still unbelievable to me that we’re playing in a time where people have so much freedom to communicate such racism without any consequences.” His outcry immediately garnered the attention of the FA and international football governing bodies.
Earlier on, Frenchman and Chelsea’s defender, Wesley Fofana also suffered racial name-calling after receiving a red card during Chelsea’s clash with Burnley on Saturday, the 21st of February.
As expected, the international football scene has solidly condemned this behaviour and the English FA has reportedly begun investigations into the events. Would these measures be enough to buy back the confidence of the fans in the sustained inclusivity and disdain for racial discrimination? That is only left to be inferred.
Emmanuel Samuel is a freelance writer with Nasarawa Newsline Newspapers.