As part of the global 16 days campaign to challenge violence against women and girls the NI Football League has pledged it’s continued support to White Ribbon NI.

White Ribbon NI became the official charity partner of the NI Football League in March 2022 and hearlded the return of the popular Charity Shield match earlier this season, as Crusaders defeated Linfield at the National Stadium at Windsor Park.

Proceeds from the match totalling £4,000, were handed over to White Ribbon NI from the Charity Shield to fund further important educational and awareness work.

White Ribbon NI CEO Tahnee McCorry said “Thank you NIFL for this generous contribution to our work. This donation will be used to fund our education and awareness workshops which inform, empower and encourage everyone to speak out about violence against women and girls.

“A lot of our work is with young men – giving them the information they need about healthy relationships , consent and inspiring them to get involved in making their community a safer place. We believe in the influence of sports culture and work with sports teams to ensure they understand their high level of responsibility to be positive role models and lead the way towards a future free from violence against women in all its forms.”

Neil Coleman, NIFL quote; “We’re delighted to be able to support our Official Charity partners White Ribbon NI through the return of the Charity Shield, so our thanks go to Linfield FC for hosting the fixture in August and the fans for supporting the event in their numbers!”

“Football has a hugely important role to play in society regarding the behaviours towards women and we feel that we want to be on the front foot in tackling these issues.”

The Global 16 Days Campaign is an international campaign to challenge violence against women and girls. The campaign runs every year from 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to 10 December, Human Rights Day.

Violence against women and girls’ is violence which is directed at women and girls because they are women and girls. It includes: sexual violence, domestic violence, stalking and harassment, FGM (female genital mutilation), forced marriage and so-called ‘honour-based violence’, trafficking and prostitution, and abuse of women and girls in online spaces. We believe we all have the responsibility to impact change , not only within these 16 days but all year round.