Michaela, a Year 6 student at St Chad’s Catholic Primary School, was named the winner of the Premier League’s national poetry-writing competition and was honoured on Friday with a special assembly and a visit from the Premier League Trophy in South London.
Michaela was first selected as Crystal Palace’s club winner before going on to win the overall competition. Her powerful poem stood out in the League-wide initiative, centred on the theme ‘Greatness Comes From Everywhere’, which highlights the importance of education and the Premier League’s ongoing commitment to tackling discrimination.
To celebrate her achievement, Michaela was surprised with a visit from the Premier League Trophy and a special assembly co-hosted by rapper and educator MC Grammar, as part of the Premier League Primary Stars programme.
Using the theme ‘Greatness Comes From Everywhere’, the Premier League launched the poetry-writing competition supported by a new NRFR education resource through the Premier League Primary Stars programme. Clubs were invited to submit their winning poem to a judging panel, which has selected a national winner.
Each club’s winning poet received a framed illustration of their poem. The judging panel included current and former players, broadcasters, journalists, writers, and representatives from the National Literacy Trust and Premier League Charitable Fund. Among the judges were Theo Walcott, Shola Ameobi, Wes Morgan, Adolescence star Ashley Walters, teacher and influencer Kit Brown, and award-winning educator and rapper MC Grammar.
Premier League Champion Wes Morgan, who sits on the League’s Black Participants’ Advisory Group and formed part of the judging panel, said: “Reading the children’s poems has reminded me of the pride felt by so many across the country in our diversity – even at a young age. Celebrating that in football, and the positive impact that so many nationalities and ethnicities have on the Premier League, is hugely impactful.
“We want the young people who contributed their excellent poems to grow up in a world without discrimination, where everyone has the same opportunities regardless of their background. Football has the power to support that change, which is why No Room For Racism is so important.”
Michaela said on her achievement: “I feel very honoured to be able to win something as big as this.
“My teachers and my family inspired me to write the poem because they teach me that there’s no room for anyone to be racist.”
Jenny Mooney, Deputy Head Teacher at St Chad’s Catholic Primary School, said: “I could not be prouder of Michaela. Her success in the Premier League’s No Room For Racism national poetry-writing competition is a reminder that when a young person speaks with honesty and courage, their voice can reach hearts far beyond the classroom.”
Jacob Mitchell, better known as MC Grammar, visited St Chad’s Catholic Primary School to present Michaela with a framed illustration of her winning poem.
He said: “It was an honour to be a panellist for the Premier League’s No Room For Racism poetry-writing competition, celebrating the power of words and poetry to inspire young voices. Michaela’s poem shone bright and a vibrant reminder of how words can truly change lives.”
The No Room For Racism Action Plan was launched in 2021, outlining a series of targets and commitments aimed at creating greater access to opportunities and career progression for Black, Asian and other minority ethnic groups in football, along with steps to eradicate racial prejudice.
A core part of this is educating young people through community programmes, encouraging discussion on the strength of diversity and the harm that is caused by discrimination.
The Premier League and clubs remain committed to tackling discriminatory abuse, and tough sanctions are in place for anybody found guilty. Punishments include automatic stadium bans and legal prosecution.
Players took the knee at Premier League fixtures between 18 and 26 October to show unity against all forms of discrimination. This follows a decision made by club captains to continue this during the October No Room For Racism fixtures, which fall within the UK’s Black History Month.
A new No Room For Racism video has been produced which showcases the strength of diversity on and off the pitch in the Premier League. This is available at premierleague.com/noroomforracism along with a range of other content created by the League and clubs.
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Notes to editors
Greatness Comes From Everywhere poetry-writing competition judging panel
Players/former players: Shola Ameobi, Danielle Carter, Jess Clarke, David James,
Ben Mee, Wes Morgan, Theo Walcott, Rachel Yankey
Broadcast/entertainment: Kelly Cates, Ben Shephard, Ashley Walters
Authors/journalists: Cressida Cowell, Dan Freedman, Rodney Hinds
Teachers: Kit Brown, MC Grammar (Jacob Mitchell)
National Literacy Trust: Jonathan Douglas (CEO)
Premier League Charitable Fund: Amanda Neylon, Gail Scott Spicer and Sanjiv Vedi (trustees/reps); Christine Davies CBE (Chair)
Premier League Primary Stars background information
Premier League Primary Stars inspires children to learn through the power of football in more than 19,000 primary schools across England and Wales.
There have been over 20m attendances by primary school pupils at club-led sessions since 2017, with 103 professional football clubs across the football pyramid receiving funding from the Premier League to deliver these.
More than 77,600 teachers have registered for free downloadable lesson materials, with 91% of teachers surveyed saying Premier League Primary Stars has increased pupils’ enjoyment of sport.
The total Premier League investment, delivered via the Premier League Charitable Fund, over the last five years is £54m.
Free Premier League Primary Stars resources can be downloaded from www.plprimarystars.com
Premier League Primary Stars objectives
Through Premier League Primary Stars, the Premier League and professional football clubs will:
- provide opportunities for children to take part in more football, sport and physical activity
- provide high-quality support to teachers with planning and delivery of PE, sport and active classroom learning
- give children in the areas most in need the tools to achieve their best
- increase children’s confidence and engagement in PSHE, English and Maths
- increase engagement, and awareness of football’s positive impact in school and beyond
No Room For Racism Action Plan key pillars
Through the No Room For Racism Action Plan, the League works across six core pillars to combat discrimination and improve diversity across the game. The latest figures for this are shared below.
Action against racism
- Since 2019, the Premier League has been proactively monitoring social media platforms to report abuse directed at players and work with the social media companies to remove offensive material from their platforms
- In 2020, the League launched a central online abuse reporting system to support players, managers, match officials and their family members who receive discriminatory online abuse
- The League has investigated 3,000+ cases of online discriminatory abuse since 2020
- The League’s online reporting system is receiving fewer reports of direct messages – down from 50-100 per month when launched in 2020/21 to less than 50 over the course of 2024/25
- The League also provides mental and emotional wellbeing support for players who have suffered discriminatory abuse
- The Matchday Observer Programme is in its third full season, monitoring fan behaviour within stadiums at each of the 380 Premier League fixtures. This ensures a detailed report of supporter-related incidents, including discriminatory abuse, is submitted from all matches
Community support
- Approximately 32 per cent of participants in Premier League-funded community programmes came from ethnically diverse backgrounds in 2024/25
- No Room For Racism education resources are being used by more than 16,000 teachers in primary schools across England and Wales, benefitting over 480,000 young people
- Through Premier League funding, the Premier League Charitable Fund is able to offer training and networking to support 95 EDI leads to embed EDI across all levels of their organisation
- In 2024/25, 36 per cent of Premier League Kicks participants were from ethnically diverse backgrounds
Embedding equality
- 27 Premier League and former Premier League clubs are now involved in the independently assessed Premier League Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Standard
- (PLEDIS), with 18 at advanced level. The Premier League has started its own assessment to ensure it is measured independently against the same standards as clubs
About the Premier League
The Premier League produces some of the most competitive and compelling football in the world. The League and its clubs use the power and popularity of the competition to inspire fans, communities and partners in the UK and across the world. The Premier League brings people together from all backgrounds. It is a competition for everyone, everywhere and is available to watch in 900 million homes in 189 countries.
