The SEASON Guide To Being Anti-Homophobic and Supporting The LGBTQIA+ Community In Football Part 1
Illustration Jacky Sheridan
SEASON zine issue 03
During Pride Month, Premier League football clubs showed their support with banners decorating their post-lockdown stadiums. FARE Board Member and Director of Football v Homophobia Lou Englefield wrote about seeing a sign for Man City’s LGBTIQ+ supporters’ group Canal Street Blues, at the heart of the stadium during the kick-off day coverage. ‘This would not have been conceivable in the UK 15 years ago,’ she said noting that politicians across the world were creating an incredibly hostile environment for LGBTQIA+* people. She felt it was important that clubs recognise their LGBTQIA+ contingent sitting at home.
She’s right that the political backdrop of 2020 is not friendly. Homophobic hate crimes in London have increased by 55 per cent in five years (via The BBC) and the Gender Recognition Act is on the way to being scrapped by the UK Government. Anti-trans legislation is being passed in the US (via ACLU), and in the same month that Pride happened (started by Black Trans Women, Marsha P. Johnson, and Sylvia Rivera as radical protest) it was reported that 2020 has already seen at least 25 transgender or gender non-conforming people killed by other violent means in the US, including Riah Milton and Dominique “Rem’mie” Fells. As the Human Rights Council (HRC) says, these cases often go unreported or misreported.
Englefield is also right that clubs are starting to talk about homophobia in sport. The Rainbow Laces campaign, instigated by Stonewall that shows support for LGBTQIA+ people in football, is now widely accepted, though there are accusations of ‘Rainbow Washing’ (are they donating funds to activist work as well as visible gestures? What is the make-up of their boards? etc). Clubs are also responding critically to fans who respond offensively to displays of solidarity. In our piece ‘Girl to Girl: Where Are We With Homophobia?’ in SEASON zine issue 03, ‘when a homophobic Manchester Utd fan expressed that they’d rather support Bolton than their club’s Stonewall Team Pride alliance, Bolton replied ‘We’d rather you didn’t #TeamStonewall’. Like the Canal Street Blues, clubs across the football pyramid now have self-organised gay supporters groups – from the Gay Gooners to Liverpool’s Kop Outs! (via Pride in Football).
“FARE Board Member and Director of Football v Homophobia Lou Englefield wrote about seeing a sign for Man City’s LGBTIQ+ supporters’ group Canal Street Blues, at the heart of the stadium during the kick-off day coverage. ‘This would not have been conceivable in the UK 15 years ago,’ she said.”
However, beneath the surface, there’s still a lot of work to do to make the game accessible and equitable for LGBTQIA+ fans, especially in a way that’s intersectional – for QTIPOC, for disabled gay fans. Grassroots teams are always pushing for change: Romance FC put on truly inclusive tournaments, Sports Shifts hosted a ‘Can We Talk?’ conversation recently centred on creating a safe space for Black LGBTQA+ in the white LGBTQA+ sporting communities, and Goal Diggers FC just appointed Chloe Morgan as their inclusion and diversity officer. But seven in 10 football fans who have attended a match said they had heard of witnessed homophobia on the terraces (via Stonewall) while 60 per cent of fans believe anti-gay abuse from fans stopped gay pro players from coming out (via Stonewall).
In the men’s game, an English professional player hasn’t come out since Justin Fashanu in 1990. ’The Gay Footballer’, a Twitter account purportedly from a Championship footballer who was going to come out as gay, was deleted in 2019, its author writing ‘I thought I was stronger. I was wrong’. In July 2020, a gay Premier League footballer wrote an anonymous open letter which was released by The Justin Fashanu Foundation: ‘I am gay. Even writing that down in this letter is a big step for me… the reality is there is still a huge amount of prejudice in football’.
In contrast, the women’s game does have role models. As Ramona Bachmann writes for The Telegraph: ‘Openly gay players put women's football years ahead of men's game’ and there were 39 proudly out players in the Women’s World Cup in 2019 including SEASON favourites Sam Kerr, Vivianne Miedema and Marta Viera Da Silva.This year’s Visible Lesbian 100 featured broadcaster Chelcee Grimes (featured in SEASON issue 05), Manchester United manager Casey Stoney MBE, Fran Kirby, Jill Scott, England national Lianne Sanderson and Arsenal forward Beth Mead as well as, of course, outspoken force Megan Rapinoe (a SEASON issue 07 sticker). A BBC Three programme, Football’s Youngest Boss about West Ham WFC chairman Jack Sullivan, featured Ramona Bachmann and Alisha Lehmann discussing what it’s like to play against each other in the WSL. That is only fiction in the men’s game – as the recent film The 12th Man shows.
“Seven in 10 football fans who have attended a match said they had heard of witnessed homophobia on the terraces (via Stonewall) while 60 per cent of fans believe anti-gay abuse from fans stopped gay pro players from coming out ( via Stonewall).”
The conversation also needs to involve trans players and people working in the game. In SEASON issue 06, footballer and activist Natalie Washington says of her club Rushmoor FC, ‘The key thing is that Rushmoor has an ethos of inclusion to begin with. They probably didn’t know that the FC had a policy of on trans inclusion when I went to join, but their mindset was to look for reasons to include rather than deny.’
Sky Sports News broadcaster Jess Creighton, while discussing the excellent Football's Black List, also stressed the importance of acknowledging intersectionalities. ‘There are many LGBT people working in football who are also black. We should shine a spotlight and lift them up. As a lot of the time we’re being dragged down,’ she said, asking for an LGBT-specific award category.
The SEASON team (bar one) is not personally part of the LGBTQIA+ community but our friends, collaborators, and plenty of people we admire are, so it’s always been important for us to elevate their voices and share their stories. We firmly believe that Pride is all year round and, in our experience, inclusive teams on and off the pitch have the most fun. As Rapinoe says, ‘you can’t win a championship without gays on your team.’ and our Digital Design Lead Dawn Broadbent made a brillIant poster using that quote.
Off the back of an enlightening Pride month, we compiled this guide to spotlight people, points of view, and projects we can all refer to, learn from, and be inspired by. This is only part one – we’ll keep adding to this and some of the entries from our last guide also apply here - see Nutmegs and Romance FC. Our email and DMs are open if you have any questions and feedback.
WATCH
DOCUMENTARY: Alone In The Game
Megan Rapinoe features in this documentary following elite LGBTQIA+ athletes telling their stories and challenges. Via YouTube.
Based on a stage play, Arinze Kene and Russel Tovey star as two footballers. The emotional impact of hiding their feelings plays out over 10 years. Via BFI Player.
DOCUMENTARY: The Number 24: Brazil’s Forbidden Shirt
Using the number 24 – which is associated with being gay due to a local game Jogo do Bicho – gay former pros, amateur players, journalists, and fans talk homophobia in Brazilian football. Via Copa 90.
Footballer Jaiyah Saelua is ‘fa’afafine’ (a third gender widely accepted in Samoa and American Samoa) and features in this documentary following the American Samoa national team. Via Amazon Prime.
Shot at Partick Thistle’s ground, The 12th Man follows the stories of two footballers Angus and Charlie, and the effect their out relationship has on their teammates and manager. Focused on the grassroots. Follow progress on Twitter.
DOCUMENTARY: Forbidden Games – The Justin Fashanu Story
‘Fashanu 9’ is a banner in the Norwich stands following Project Restart. In tribute to Justin Fashanu, the first openly gay footballer (and the world’s first £1m black footballer) who committed suicide aged 27. This documentary follows the story of him and his brother, John.
Short film (that features well-known faces from football) sharing the inner life of a gay professional footballer that led to the formation of Wonderkid FC , a LGBTQ+ inclusive team. Via YouTube.
READ
Felicia Pennant talks to seven LGBTQIA+ women playing, supporting, and working in the game including Swedish professional and Chelsea FC Women captain Magdalena Eriksson, Goal Diggers FC founder Fleur Cousens, and founder of the Gay Games Joanie Evans. The piece includes their honest opinions on Pride, activism advice for all year round, and those doing work supporting Black Pride and QTIPOC organisations. Via Vogue.co.uk.
Openly Gay Players Puts Women’s Football Ahead
Denmark striker Pernille Harder’s kiss with her girlfriend, Sweden’s Magda Eriksson, at the Women’s World Cup comes up in this interview with Chelsea’s Bachmann. She discusses how being openly gay in Women’s football is a strength of the game. ‘I get messages every day and people at matches stopping me and saying they’re really thankful for me being so open with it,’ she says. Via The Telegraph.
I’m Nicky Bandini – and I’m still a sports writer
Sports broadcaster and Guardian Football Podcast regular Nicky Bandini shares her story. ‘If you are reading this as someone fond of my work, then please rest assured that in most ways I remain the same person as before. Being trans has no impact on my capacity to analyse a football match, nor my commitment to the work that I do.’ Via The Guardian.
How The 2019 World Cup Helped Me Accept My Queerness
‘As I grew from a casual viewer into an invested fan, I became aware of how very gay it was.’ German fan Alex Peters discusses the challenges of being a gay fan and what needs to change, but also how she found women’s football as an example of how sport can be elevated by queer people. Via season-zine.com.
My LGBT Football Team Finally Lets Me Be Myself While Playing The Game I Love
Jay Lemonius shares how Stonewall FC helped him play as his authentic self as a gay black man. Via Huffington Post.
SEASON zine print issues 03 and 06
‘Girl to Girl: Where Are We With Homophobia?’ in issue 03 talks to Kim Sanders at Stonewall, gay players and fans. In issue 06, themed community, Natalie Washington writes about playing for Rushmoor FC as a transgender woman.
A network for those already in the industry – and those interested in working in sports media – who are members of the LGBT+ community. There are also downloadable resources for companies. Via Sportsmedialgbt.com.
A 2017 report which studies the background of sport’s problems with homophobia, from participation to the effects of keeping sexuality secret, before moving on to how role models, LGB visibility, safe spaces, and how straight players need to be part of the discussion. Via Parliament.
As politicians attack the rights of my community, my football club has been an ally
Lou Englefield reflects on displays of solidarity with LGBTQIA+ communities at games. Via Fare Network.
LISTEN
This episode focuses on sport collectives and initiatives that are making movements in the queer community for sport. Director of the film Wonderkid Rhys Chapman and racer Lizzie Williams feature as does Neville Southall – talking about allyship to the LGBTQIA community. Via Sky.
Episodes include Football Pride and with Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper (and lawyer) Chloe Morgan talking about her passions and using her platform as an out gay player. Via BBC Sounds.
Football (obviously) and personalities. Host Adam chats with Funke Awoderu Senior Inclusion & Diversity Manager at the FA and Kat Craig (CEO of Athlead which helps athletes use their platform to help others). Via Spotify.
PLP - The Official Proud Lilywhites Podcast
A listen for any Spurs fan. Game chat and the highs and lows alongside discussion of being LGBTQIA+ in football. Via Audioboom.
DONATE
Buying rainbow laces shows your support on the pitch but Stonewall’s campaign also includes tips for making your sport community more LGBTQIA+ inclusive. Via Stonewall.
Every four years, the Gay Games welcome over 10,000 athletes in 30+ sports with the aim of ‘fostering a spirit of mutual support.’
The organisation highlights how discrimination is still prevalent in the game with a focus on art, events and of course football. Buy tees to show support.
The Football v Transphobia week of action took place earlier this year: 24 – 31st March 2020. Cop tees and supporters packages – the micro-site features a guide to welcoming trans players, trans fans, for referees, coaches and clubs.
Founded in 2019 by Amal Fashanu, Justin Fashanu’s niece who also created BBC3 documentary Britain’s Gay Footballers, to raise awareness and tackle discrimination.
Donate what you can to individuals, bail funds and more through Dyke Soccer’s rolling document.
FOLLOW
The first out UK Lesbian football team founded in 1986 and the first with a ‘fair play’ policy. Follow for training details and gems from their archive.
A football club for womxn and non-binary people. Last month they raised money for UK Black Pride with an online edition of their queer club night Murder On Zidane’s Floor.
As featured in SEASON issue 06, Portland’s Premiere LGBTQ+ Football Club is on a mission to create Portland’s first LGBTQ soccer league. Sign up on the website.
Read their #pridemonth content sharing the love as a team where the majority represent the LGBTQIA+ community.
Find your club’s group on this Twitter List. Including the Kop Outs!, Gay Gooners, and QPR Rainbow Rangers. Via Twitter.
A home for queer womxn, transfolx, gender-variant folx in the USA. Based in LA, NYC, and DC but a growing online community globally, read their mxifesto, donate via the Pay Exchange document, and look out for the tees.
Sydney’s biggest Lesbian and LGBTQIA+ community which was established in 1985. Find training details and gems from their history.
Has an LGBT+ Sports Club Finder to find teams and training sessions specific to your area.
‘Helping lesbians to score since 1989,’ they say, they play Sundays in Regents Park and Thursday evenings in Camden. Find details via Facebook or MeetUp.
Formed last August, the Super5League team stands for LGBTI+ equality on and off the pitch.
We love Robin’s football embroidery which includes a Trans Pride FC Sankt Pauli patch.
Words: the SEASON team
*We’ve used LGBTQIA+ as a term that is used to refer to the community as a whole but different groups in this guide sometimes use other terms.