Thankfully, the days of the most horrific scenes of racial abuse at our football grounds are now mainly in the past.

But that doesn't mean that football clubs don't have a role to play in continuing to stamp out the disease of racism in our communities.

Football clubs are very often at the heart of towns and cities, and supporting a team can unite people who may feel they are divided in other ways.

Today's footballers also carry a lot of weight with young people, and the game's big stars can be among the most influential opinon-formers in the country.

So the fact that Bradford City is setting up a formal "Bantams Against Racism" initiative is something to be roundly applauded.

The Bantams have already had a long involvement with the Kick Racism Out Of Football campaign, but with this latest project they are not just tackling problems in the game, but proactively and positively helping to promote social cohesion.

This new initiative takes the battle against racism out into the communities from which Bradford City draws its fans.

Football has been called the Beautiful Game and it's true that it does carry a great importance in many people's lives.

If Bradford City can harness that energy and use it as a force to unite the district's communities, then it will have achieved something of which it can be really proud.