Pupils from two local schools came to Brunton Park as part of an educational event organised by Show Racism the Red Card, in partnership with the CUFC Community Sports Trust and the club.
Youngsters from Kingmoor School and St Michael's School came together to participate in workshops exploring racism and stereotypes, designed to raise awareness and spark debate and ideas about these serious issues.
And the children were treated to a special surprise to round off the event when first team players Morgan Feeney, Jordan Gibson, Michael Kelly, Owen Moxon and Tobi Sho-Silva popped in to say hello and to answer questions about their thoughts and experiences with hate crimes and racism.
CST manager James Tose said: “These events are always fantastic to host and we can’t thank the team from SRtRC enough for coming along and for making it all so interesting and worthwhile.
“The children learn about some serious issues and get to have their input, and that can only be good for everyone.
“They particularly enjoyed talking to the players and asking them about their experiences. I know that everybody took a lot away from the day.”
Tobi Sho-Silva said: “These events are about raising awareness of problems that we sadly still have in society, and it's a pleasure to be involved and to see the positive impact it has when young children come together in such a positive environment.
“Having popped along last year, it was good to see that yet again the messages had been understood and the questions we received because of that were excellent.
“Thank you to the organisers and the children for making it so enjoyable.”
Morgan Feeney said: “It's really good that the club and Community Sports Trust continue to support organisations like SRtRC because education, particularly for children of a young age, is the best way of tackling this type of thing.
“So much work has been done across football to tackle racism, discrimination and hate crimes, but there is still so much more to do.
“That's why events like this really matter, so well done and thank you to everyone who made it happen.”
Thank you to all of the children who came to the event and well done for the superb questions you asked.
Click HERE for more information on the Show Racism the Red Card project.
