Prince William is offering his support to a youth soccer club that has experienced racist abuse.
According to Sky News, The Prince of Wales sent a letter to the team, Alpha United Juniors in Bradford, England, expressing his concern about the situation.
“Racism and abuse has no place in our society,” he wrote in a letter seen by the outlet. “Abhorrent behaviour of this nature must stop now and all those responsible be held to account.”
The chair of Alpha United, Mohammed Waheed, wrote to the palace in January after becoming frustrated with the local chapter of The Football Association’s investigation.
The Football Association (The FA) is the governing body of soccer in England.
Prince William is the president of The Football Association, the governing body for soccer in England. (Chris Jackson – WPA Pool )
Prince William has been the president of The FA since 2006 as a figurehead. The association has had a figurehead president since 1939, which has typically been a member of the royal family. Prince Andrew, The Duke of York, held the position from 2000 to 2006.
Alpha United Juniors had previously spoken out in November of 2022, “revealing how for years players as young as seven, have been on the receiving end of slurs and even threats of violence from the sidelines,” according to Sky News.
Waheed also told the outlet that since coming forward, about 40 other clubs have contacted him to share similar experiences and concerns.
West Riding, the local chapter, said in a statement to the outlet, “We strongly condemn all forms of discrimination and we will always do our utmost to hold perpetrators to account.”
It continues, “In order for us to gather evidence, raise charges, and issue sanctions against perpetrators, we require witnesses to engage with our judicial process. Despite our best efforts, the club did not support this process.”
Prince William at an event celebrating the 10th anniversary of St. George’s Park, The Football Association’s national center for soccer. (Nathan Stirk – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
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The club and Naz Shah, The Member of Parliament for Bradford West, dispute The FA’s claim and lack of action.
“We have made pledges and to show racism the red card, where are those pledges when it comes to grassroots football?” Shah told Sky News.
Prince William has spoken out against racist comments against soccer players on professional level in the past.
In 2021, he made a rare personal statement on his Instagram condemning “despicable” comments made against several notable players in England.
“Racist abuse – whether on the pitch, in the stands, or on social media – is despicable and it must stop now,” he wrote at the time.
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“We all have a responsibility to create an environment where such abuse is not tolerated, and those who choose to spread hate and division are held accountable for their actions. That responsibility extends to the platforms where so much of this activity now takes place.”
“I commend all those players, supporters, clubs and organisations who continue to call out and condemn this abuse in the strongest terms,” added William, who signed himself as “W” in the caption.
At the time, the Prince of Wales was called out for not supporting his sister-in-law, Meghan Markle, against the racist comments from the media and even allegedly within the royal family. William is currently facing similar backlash with his new statement in support of the youth soccer club, with many calling him a “hypocrite.”
“Wow that’s rich coming from someone who never backed his own sister in law who is biracial. Spare us this obvious PR stunt,” wrote one person on a tweet from People magazine reporting the story.
“Yet he participated in the racial abuse of his sister in law, nephew, and niece. #RacistRoyalFamily,” commented another.
Another noted the Sky News tweet of the story had its comments section closed. “LMAO there [sic] not even trying to hid [sic] the fact Prince William is a hypocrite look at sky news locking of the comments because even they know it’s bs,” the individual wrote.
“Rightfully, Sky News disabled comments about Prince William’s ‘good deed’ because we all know he’d be torn to shreds. Prince Willy bullied his black sister-in-law and did nothing to protect his black niece and nephew from his own subjects and others abusing them on social media,” said another.
