Elliott the crusader helping Charlton to boot out racism

Club celebrate 10 years of noble campaign

Unusually for a club that have entered the second half of October without a home point to their name, there will be a celebratory air surrounding Charlton Athletic's Premiership game with Middlesbrough this afternoon. Charlton, for whom "home" meant somebody else's ground only a decade ago, have a sense of perspective about these things, and a particular sense of pride in their achievements among what is once again their own local community; and this week marks the tenth anniversary of the Red, White and Black campaign, believed to be the longest-running anti-racism scheme by any English football club.

Given the events in Slovakia last weekend, it is an apt time to consider how much progress has been made in improving race relations through the medium of the national sport, and how individual players and their clubs can ensure that complacency does not set in. Paul Elliott, once a centre-half of outstanding ability with Charlton, Luton, Aston Villa, Pisa, Celtic and Chelsea, has been at the forefront of the struggle for 20 years and will today receive public recognition for his contribution, when he steps out on to the Valley pitch again to accept one of the first Red, White and Black awards.

Pisa, Celtic, Chelsea – Elliott's list of transfers alone suggests some sort of defiant one-man campaign against prejudice, deliberately seeking out the hottest spots to make his points. There was no such intention, he now insists, though a fainter-hearted footballer would surely have found an easier way of avoiding the worst bigotry of the Eighties. Or perhaps there were no easy ways at that time for a player whose skin happened to be a different colour? "In all honesty, I think you could go to virtually any club north of Watford and the abuse was horrific, the monkey noises, coin throwing and banana throwing," Elliott recalled of that era. "When I first started, opposing players in this country used to be the same, trying to wind you up and putting you off your game. But I soon learned that racism was a bigger problem in society than in football and was also used by politically motivated people to voice their opinions.

"Italy was difficult as well, particularly in the south, because there was a great divide with the affluent north and at Pisa I was the only non-white player in the team, as well as the first. And so was Scotland, for me and for Mark Walters, who was a black player at Rangers at the same time." He didn't shy away: "I went to those clubs first and foremost as a footballer. But you can use your performances on the field and the way you handle yourself to address other issues. I tried to make people realise that that level of abuse and behaviour was totally unacceptable.

"I learnt the best way with racism was to challenge it and point out that nobody should have to put up with that. My mother and father had come here in the Forties and Fifties from Jamaica and had to deal with a lot of problems, and I said to myself that if I was ever in a position to do something constructive to help current and future generations, I would."

His work for the Professional Footballers' Association and the Commission for Racial Equality is now part of that, as well supporting the Charlton Athletic Race Equality partnership with Greenwich Council, which began at the time of the club's return to the borough 10 years ago. Ben Tegg, the club's community liaison officer, recalls that out of 8,000 people attending one game in that first season back, precisely 11 were found to be from ethnic minorities, who otherwise comprised 25 per cent of the local population.

"The supporters' club and local authority decided we needed to become pro-active," Tegg said. "CARE now has nine full-time staff and Charlton Athletic are the main providers in the borough of anti-racist material. We go out into schools and the ground is used on a daily basis. We've moved from being part of the problem, to part of the solution." He is adamant, however, that there is no cause whatever for complacency at any level.

"For years, football suffered from racists within the stadium and football was perceived to be a no-go area for ethnic minority communities. But because we had such a massive problem in this country and it's now diminished doesn't mean there's no problem now. There's still a problem with racist chanting and it's certainly still an issue with England fans. We still need clubs to admit they've got a problem. Some find it difficult to do that and are running away from racism."

Viewers tuning into Sky Sports' coverage of today's game – around the world as well as at home – will see evidence of Charlton's work, plus appearances by the Greenwich Gospel Choir and a parade of 150 youngsters. Next week, more than 500 schoolchildren will take part in workshops at the ground and meet members of the first-team squad. Who knows what seeds might be sown, here or abroad? As Ben Tegg puts it: "There are now no excuses."