Kick It Out received a record 1,744 discrimination reports across professional football, grassroots, and online during the first year of its Football United strategy. The organisation says a rise in anti-immigrant language contributed to the increase, while improved reporting relationships with groups including Her Game Too, The Frank Soo Foundation and Football v Homophobia also gave more people confidence to report incidents. More than 100 reports were received through those new channels during the 2025/26 season.

Kick It Out says the increase in reports should not be viewed solely as a deterioration in football's culture, pointing to greater confidence among communities to report discrimination and improved relationships with partner organisations. The number of reporting partnerships is expected to increase during the 2026/27 season.

Samuel Okafor, Kick It Out's chief executive, said: "At a time of rising discrimination and where we need action to make the game more inclusive and representative of all communities, football must be more united to take on its challenges." The Year One Impact Report, published on Tuesday, highlights the scale of the challenge facing football as the organisation attempts to make the game more inclusive and representative.

The report covers the first year of Football United, a five-year strategy launched in September 2025 with four key goals. More than 11,000 people accessed education programmes, while 583 attended Raise Your Game and 148 took part in Fan Education. A partnership with Guinness 0.0 saw more than 3,000 Greene King staff receive education. Professional clubs also published workforce diversity data for the first time under FA Rule N.