Sports across the world provide entertainment, enjoyment, thrills and opportunities for participation to many. They showcase the peak of innovation and the very best of human achievement and accomplishment. However, our sporting environments are increasingly plagued by online abuse, which only serves to damage our sporting ecosystem by undermining the values of sport, restricting inclusion and representation, whilst harming individuals and communities worldwide.
Online abuse is therefore a growing threat to sports across the world; seeking to tarnish our experiences by targeting competitors, personnel, officials, volunteers, entourages, and fans.
The United Against Online Abuse (UAOA) campaign was established to work collaboratively with sporting organisations across the globe, as well as with national governments, academics, regulators, social media and technology platforms to produce research-based, evidence-led assessments of the online abuse landscape in sport as well as the solutions to tackle this phenomenon.
Established by the FIA in 2023 and funded by the FIA Foundation. The campaign is based upon three core pillars:
Under its Evidence Based pillar, the campaign runs a prestigious Global Research Scholarships for individuals to carry out Master’s by Research degrees at Dublin City University with full funding from the FIA Foundation. This workstream is designed to diversify the traditionally western-lens focused research by supporting up-and-coming researchers to improve the industry’s understanding of Online Abuse worldwide. UAOA’s current cohort supports researchers in Italy, Mexico, South Africa and the United Kingdom.
The UAOA Coalition, in partnership with FIA University, publishes regular ‘Barometer’ reports which assess and monitor the current online abuse landscape across sport. The UAOA reports are a first of their kind, industry-wide analysis featuring contributions from leading International Sporting Federations and NGOs. These reports identify and track, not only the prevalence and types of online abuse that are present in sport, but also measure the impact this has on participation and inclusion. Their insights present a holistic approach to the way we view the impact of online harms and the methods we must utilise to tackle these phenomena.
Finally, to protect the sporting ecosystem in a rapidly changing digital era the UAOA campaign has created a free, open access educational programme designed to empower communities with the knowledge of online abuse in sport, its impact and potential mitigation vs response strategies.
Being evidence-led is a critical pillar to the campaign because prevention and intervention strategies are in their infancy, requiring further research and development to ensure the solutions produced are practical and ultimately successful.
The campaign prioritises alignment with UNESCO’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals which includes the importance of digital citizenship and media literacy. By contributing to the resources available to ensure everyone is able to keep themselves safe online, UAOA aspires to play its part in building digital knowledge, awareness and resilience across the world.
Through our Stronger Together pillar, the campaign hosts conferences, forums and events designed to convene sporting bodies, national governments, social media platforms, tech organisations and academics encouraging cross-sector collaboration. By championing collaboration, UAOA aspires to be a world-leader in the research of online abuse and the production of solution-orientated answers to the epidemic of online abuse.
Lastly, the UAOA campaign has adopted a Commitment to Action pillar, reflecting the coalition’s ambition to be a proactive, solutions focused entity. By convening and collaborating with international partners United Against Online Abuse aspires to design, develop and implement practical actions that can protect the integrity of sports across the world as safe and inclusive spaces for competitors, officials, journalists and fans alike.