No Room For Racism

Ogbene: It's important to teach younger generation about diversity

10 Oct 2023

Chiedozie Ogbene, Stopsley Community Primary School

Luton Town forward and Marvelous Nakamba go back to school to discuss inclusion as part of No Room For Racism

Luton Town star Chiedozie Ogbene visited Stopsley Community Primary School to talk about the value of inclusion and diversity, and his hopes of inspiring young people as part of the Premier League's No Room For Racism initiative.

The club's charitable arm, Luton Town Community Trust, hosted a special workshop in which Ogbene and his team-mate Marvelous Nakamba welcomed the opportunity to answer questions from an enthusiastic and engaged young audience.

“I cherish programmes like this," said Luton striker Ogbene, who grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, before moving to Ireland as an eight-year-old.

"I think it’s very important we get involved so we can teach the younger generation the impact that racism and discrimination can have on our society.

"At this age we can influence and help change their perspective on how they see others. It’s very important because we know diversity teaches us and promotes tolerance and understanding between different cultures.

"We know inclusion helps eliminate depression and anxiety in young people. It’s very important to include kids, because at Luton Town we know what kind of town we are. We have a high diversity rate and to be here, I feel like we can change their perspective.

“I try to live a good-mannered and disciplined life, so when the younger generation see me and my career they can be inspired, and hopefully I can encourage them to chase their dream."

Ahead of last Saturday's home match against Tottenham Hotspur, Luton's community operations manager Daniel Douglas spoke about how important it is to embed the values of social inclusion in everything the club do.

"It's not just on a project scale, it's our workforce looking at, 'Do we represent the communities that we're serving?'" said Douglas. "The football club is a fantastic example of that, with how diverse we are on the football pitch, and it's ensuring that we can embed that into the community work that we do on a day-to-day basis.

Did you see our Community Operations Manager Daniel Douglas’ interview before the @LutonTown @SpursOfficial game on Saturday?
Thank you @rioferdy5 to @lynseyhipgrave1 and recognising our great work in the community https://t.co/rCE19iDzKc
— Luton Town FC Community Trust (@LTFC_Community) October 9, 2023

"As you've seen this week, the players have been celebrating what they do, where they've come from, their cultural differences in and around local high schools, local primary schools.

"They're really inspiring young people throughout the whole community. It's important for the players to be involved in what we're doing and taking that stand."

Educational resources

The Premier League has created No Room For Racism educational resources to engage young people through Premier League-funded community programmes run by 105 professional clubs.

The Premier League Primary Stars No Room For Racism education resources, which focus on allyship, racial stereotyping, online abuse and inclusion, can be downloaded for free by teachers.

The resources are available to more than 18,900 primary schools across England and Wales. They have been downloaded by more than 10,900 primary school teachers, engaging over 328,000 pupils in classrooms.