Until a couple of seasons ago I managed an amateur football team. Nothing fancy, just a local district league team: the type you see on parks across the UK any Saturday afternoon. I was different to a lot of the players. I'm not from the area, I have a funny accent (Lancastrian, if you're interested) and I set up home here when I left university several years ago. Crucially, when I saw or heard something that was unacceptable I challenged it. What I heard most were racist comments. Each and every time I challenged these players. The response I got was not an apology, it was bemusement at best.
The team was located about 10 miles from one of Britain's major cities. The team and management were 100% white. Incredibly one of our players was known by the nickname "Coon"! No matter how many times I pointed out that you cannot say that word, that it is racist and offensive, players continued to use this nickname - outside of my earshot I should add.
At the beginning of the season, the players were often joined by new lads from a nearby military base: players originally from all over the country who were looking for a runabout on a Saturday afternoon. Some of these players were black and Asian. The best I ever achieved was to (just about) make sure the lads did not use the offensive nickname when these players were there.
If we played against teams in the league who had an Asian or black player, no offensive comments were aired to my knowledge on the pitch. However at the half time team talk or back in the changing rooms opposing players would be referred to by their race every time, often using offensive and derogatory terms. In most cases the players did not think they were being offensive and found it difficult to understand that their choice of language was racist. I heard and witnessed similar statements with different teams I played with and against. This is a challenge our footballing authorities face.
I've recently come to the end of a 25 year period of both playing for and managing different football teams. I've played at a decent amateur level and have coached at all levels of the game. My experiences in football are probably replicated thousands of times by players and coaches across the country I suspect. During this time I only ever encountered the Kick It Out campaign (formally called the Kick Out Racism campaign,which is interesting in itself) when I went looking for the information for a youth project I worked on. I don't believe the campaign has any effect at this level of football, because it is never seen. These players make up a fair proportion of supporters and football fans in the community.
This is why attitudes and language, as I've described above, are common place. There is an acknowledgement that footballing authorities need to work at grass roots level, but this is usually in relation to skills development or tactical awareness. Unless the Kick it Out campaign filters down and touches parks football then don't expect so see any change soon.
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