"I am thrilled that the Big Lottery Fund in Wales has supported the 'Show Racism the Red Card' organisation with a substantial grant,”  Charvis said.

"It is important for me to get involved with raising awareness of racism through the medium of sport and educate young people across Wales. The 'Show racism the Red Card' charity delivers excellent anti-racism projects throughout the country and the Big Lottery Fund in Wales' contribution will help the charity to continue with the superb work that they do.”

Colin Charvis is joined by Wales’ international football stars Ryan Giggs, Robbie Earnshaw, Danny Gabbidon and Simon Davies in support of the campaign.

The raised money will be spent on a project to expand and build on the existing work of the organisation across the whole of Wales by delivering anti-racism workshops, competitions and awareness raising activities through the medium of sport to young people.

By encouraging young people to enter schools competitions, take part in sporting activities and working with sports stars, the project will help to get the message across that racism is unacceptable and help tackle social exclusion and build social cohesion.

The aim is to increase the number of young people from BME communities to participate in sports, as well as improving the health of young people. By working with sports clubs, it will also support young people who want to take part in coaching courses.

Recent figures from Cardiff Council show that racist incidents in Cardiff schools have increased by 16% since 2003. The project will support Cardiff Council, who has been actively working with other relevant organisations, to tackle racism head on.

Charvis recently visited Downing Street where he was inducted into the ‘Show Racism the Red Card’ Hall of Fame by Prime Minister Gordon Brown at an awards ceremony to recognise the contribution of sporting role models in the fight against racism.

The £66 million People and Places programme awards grants of between £5,001 and £1 million for a broad range of community projects. For further information about the People and Places programme and how you can apply for funding, please visit http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/ and use the ‘Wales’ specific search facility.

UK project Co-ordinator, Ged Grebby, said: “This grant will make a massive difference to our organisation in Wales, allowing us to reach thousands more people with our anti-racist message. It is the largest grant our Welsh organisation has ever had and will allow us to really build on the great work we have already done in Wales. “

Big Lottery Fund Press Office – Oswyn Hughes: 02920 678 207

Out of hours contact: 07760 171 431

Public Enquiries Line: 08454 102030 Textphone: 845 6021 659

Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/