A groundbreaking charter has been drawn up to tackle racism in the district's amateur football leagues.

Bradford Council has signed up to the Kick It Out campaign after claims that racist abuse is blighting the game at grassroots level.

The charter brings together the five local authorities in West Yorkshire and the West Riding County Football Association.

It is seen as a model of good practice for the rest of the country to follow, and was officially launched at Huddersfield Town's McAlpine Stadium.

The charter was drawn up after a damning report about racism in amateur football. Every black and Asian player questioned had experienced verbal and physical racism on the pitch from players and spectators.

Taj Butt has been involved in amateur football in Bradford for the past 20 years as a player, manager and now a referee.

He said: "In the past racism has been accepted as part of the game. Now it is a red card offence and actually against the law.

"People are aware of the campaign now. The West Riding FA has taken positive steps to improve the situation.

"And local authorities like Bradford Council have also pledged to take action. Clubs consistently found guilty of racism run the risk of having their facilities withdrawn."

As a Kick It Out partner, Bradford Council has agreed to publicise the charter by displaying a poster in every changing room in the district.

Delroy Dacres, chairman of the Bradford-based Sports Campaign Against Racism (SCAR) group, said: "It is clear a lot of teams still don't know the charter exists, so our first priority is to let everyone know it is there.

"Last season there was a lot of racist abuse at local matches. The SCAR group went to the regional FA to discuss the situation and, to their credit, something is being done.''

lBradford City defender Gunnar Halle is one of 18 footballers speaking out against racism on a new video produced by the Show Racism the Red Card campaign. The video, produced in three languages and accompanied by a CD Rom, was launched in Brussels yesterday.