via Euro 2008

If you're like CGG and the entire continent of Europe yesterday, you spent the rainy afternoon inside watching the final Eurocup game as Spain beat Germany in a tense match 1-0. It's important to recognize, however, that the UEFA Euro 2008 was not just about sports. These soccer studs are also good at spreading positive messages to our society. This season, the theme was all about the fight to ban racism, which has been a pressing issue involving so many multi-cultural fans in past years.

During the semi-finals, team captains delivered a message before kick-off that spoke against racism and in support of diversity. Each fan then united together by participating in a stadium-wide choreographed "Wave" while every spectator sported the Unite Against Racism logo. The campaign also included a 30-second film shown at every game called "Different Languages, One Goal- No to Racism." The advertisement featured fans from across the world celebrating after players scored while portraying one message: "Goal" is the same in every language. 

Unite Against Racism is a UEFA supported awareness campaign organized by the Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) network. It is also supported by the professional players union FIFPro. Fortunately, it seemed that the messages were all well-received, as UEFA communications director William Gaillard revealed that there were no racism incidents this year at all! Gaillard comments, "We see that as a very positive situation but we’re also aware that this kind of phenomenon does not appear overnight and that we have to keep sending the message, and making sure that football fans receive it and spread it."