ENGLISH football will boycott social media next weekend as the fight against online abuse continues.

Clubs across the Premier League, English Football League (EFL), Women's Super League (WSL) and Women’s Championship will switch off their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts from 3pm on Friday, April 30 until 11.59pm on Monday, May 3.

This spans a full fixture programme, with Oxford United in action at Shrewsbury Town in Sky Bet League One next Saturday.

Read also: Karl Robinson explains why social media boycott is important

The boycott aims to emphasise that social media companies must do more to stamp out online hate and highlight the importance of educating people in the battle against online discrimination.

The FA, Professional Footballers' Association, League Managers Association, Professional Game Match Officials Board, Kick It Out and the Football Supporters' Association will also take part.

EFL chief executive Trevor Birch said: “EFL clubs have expressed a clear desire to take a united stand against abhorrent racist, discriminatory, and threatening abuse on social media platforms which we fully support alongside the rest of the football family.  

“While we recognise the value and role social media plays in our game, online abuse will not be tolerated and we will continue to strongly pursue all avenues open to us to affect change.

“The boycott is only part of the work being undertaken in this area but further highlights the need for social media companies to take additional responsibility for the inappropriate and unwelcome behaviour that appears on their platforms."

Swansea City, Birmingham City and Scottish champions Rangers all boycotted social media for a week earlier this month, following several instances of online racist abuse.

In February, football authorities jointly signed a letter to Twitter and Facebook calling for them to ‘accept responsibility for preventing online abuse’.

Requests included 'filtering, blocking and swift takedowns of offensive posts, an improved verification process and re-registration prevention, plus active assistance for law enforcement agencies to identify and prosecute originators of illegal content'.

In a joint statement today, those organisations said: "While some progress has been made, we reiterate those requests in an effort to stem the relentless flow of discriminatory messages and ensure that there are real-life consequences for purveyors of online abuse across all platforms."

Karl Robinson had previously confirmed United would be willing to join a boycott.

The U’s head coach said: “We don’t feel these companies control their platforms in the right way.

“That’s not just within football, it’s within society in general.

“The bullying, the racism, the negative slurs on people’s physical appearance or mental health, it’s far too easy for people to go online and put fear, doubt and sadness into other people’s lives."