The work of the #SportSpreadsRespect project continues with a stakeholders' meeting held on 2-3 March 2023 in Rome, Italy, to take stock of the country’s current initiatives and best practices in the fight against hate speech in sport.

The  Senior Project Officer met with Flavio Siniscalchi, Head of the Department of Sport of the Italian Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Stefania Pizzolla - III Service Coordinator and Antonio Parrilla - Italian National Coordinator, as well as key project stakeholders: representatives of ministries, equality bodies, public and cybercrime security forces, digital communication public authorities, the Olympic and Paralympic Committees, sports federations and grassroots sports organisations, supporters' associations and athletes. Facilitated by Rosario Coco - project international expert – participants shared their experiences of hate speech in sport, the challenges they faced and best practices,  a compilation of which will be included in the national factsheet and will inform the strategic approach and design of the #SportSpreadsRespect campaign.

The most illustrative best practices will be included in the Combating Hate Speech in Sport Online Resource Centre, which will provide access to existing tools to combat hate speech in all participating countries.

The joint project "Combating Hate Speech in Sport" is co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.