Stonewall, County FA’s, and FvH come together to tackle homophobia in football

Last night, we teamed up with the Amateur FA, London FA, London Assembly, and Football v Homophobia to host an event at City Hall for Football v Homophobia Month of Action. 

The evening was all about building community through football and shining a light on the work still needed to tackle homophobia in the game. Jon Holmes, Media Officer for Football v Homophobia Month, shared some concerning stats from Out and Out Football - a staggering 74% of LGBTQ+ people surveyed said they had experienced or heard anti-LGBTQ+ abuse while watching football. It's a clear reminder that we must keep pushing for change. 

The panel, chaired by referee Ryan Atkin, brought together inspiring voices shaping LGBTQ+ inclusion in football and beyond. Jahmal Howlett-Mundle, Esther Jones Russell, Natalie Washington, Alex Baker, and Stonewall CEO Simon Blake shared powerful insights on creating change and the role we can all play in making football everyone’s game. 

Our research into LGBTQ+ people’s experiences in sport shows that 1 in 4 LGBTQ+ people do not feel welcome in community sport groups or community team sports and 1 in 4 LGBTQ+ people do not feel welcome at live sports events. These stats are a stark reminder; we still need to keep our eye on the ball.

All of us deserve to feel safe participating in the sports we love and experience the unique benefits that sport can create, and last night reminded us of that. 

Our CEO, Simon Blake, closed the evening with a call to action: 

“These are turbulent times across the LGBTQ+ community, not just in sport. It’s a time when we need to stand firm, speak the truth and remain true to our values. We must continue to humanise these stories and issues - telling them in a powerful way like everybody has tonight, showing courage and taking inspiration from each other. Until we get to the point that everybody feels able to play at all levels in the sport they love, then there is always more to do.”