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Chelsea fields new group for LGBT fans

Chelsea FC launch their first ever LGBT supporter fan group.

Chelsea FC
Ed Connell, Chair of the Gay Football Supporters Network (GFSN), and Gerard Green

Earlier this year members of the Gay Football Supporters Network (GFSN) visited the club to talk about how they could support their LGBT fans. Ed Connell, chair of the Gay Football Supporters Network (GFSN), and Gerard Green who is one of the GFSN’s founding members, visited Stamford Bridge.

Ed Connell, said: “We are delighted to see Chelsea FC join the growing list of football clubs that recognise the need to make their club a more welcoming environment for their LGBT fans. It is particularly important to me as a Chelsea fan to see the football club embrace the diverse nature of their fan base.” 

GFSN was first established in 1989, as a social network for LGBT football fans across the country. Since then it has grown and expanded into hosting its own national league, aiming to take the lead in tackling homophobia in football.

The GFSN league is the world’s only national league that is aimed at the LGBT community and is open to all regardless of age, race, nationality, religion, gender or sexuality.

It currently hosts teams from across the UK including:

♦      Birmingham

♦      Bournemouth

♦      Bristol

♦      Cardiff

♦      Edinburgh

♦      Glasgow

♦      Leicester

♦      Liverpool

♦      London

♦      Manchester

♦      Newcastle

♦      Nottingham

♦      Trowbridge

♦      Wolverhampton

♦      Yorkshire

More teams join the league every season, and GFSN also has affiliated teams from the Republic of Ireland.

GFSN works closely with partner organisations including the FA and Kick it Out, to encourage a safe and positive environment in which LGBT people are able to watch and play football. Their mission is to promote the support and participation of LGBT people in football, establishing a social network for LGBT football supporters and encouraging the formation of LGBT teams for players of all abilities.

The new Chelsea fan group is a big step forward for GFSN who campaign against homophobia and transphobia in football, with a view to creating a safe environment for all, whilst gaining respect and recognition for LGBT involvement in football.

Working alongside Chelsea FC, Ed Connell will help in forming the group by offering his support and assistance to ensure its growth.

Ed Connell, said: “I am immensely proud to see this happen. I have been campaigning against homophobia in football for the best part of 12 years and spent the first seven or eight feeling very frustrated trying to get people to realise there was an issue so for me to see these things happening is fantastic.”

To find out more or to join the group email: chelsea@gfsn.org.uk or contact the GFSN on Twitter @ChelseaGFSN

PREVIEW: Collabro at Brighton Centre

Collabro, the World’s number one musical theatre vocal group who performed to over 55,000 people on their sell out UK tour last year, start new tour for 2016 playing the Brighton Centre on Saturday. March 12!

Collabro
Collabro

Since winning Britain’s Got Talent, Collabro’s diary has been a whirlwind of touring and promotion on a Worldwide scale!  The new tour includes 29 dates across the UK, starting in the Wirral at New Brighton’s Floral Pavilion (February 23) taking in a date at London’s Royal Albert Hall on March 26 and then culminating on April 3 at Guildford’s G Live.

The five-piece vocal group swept to victory on the ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent in June 2014 winning a £250,000 cash prize as well as a much-coveted slot on The Royal Variety Show.  They signed with Simon Cowell’s Syco Music and their career has gone from strength to strength here in the UK and Internationally.

Their debut album Stars rocketed to the No.1 spot beating Ed Sheeran in the process and remains the fastest selling album for a debut act.  A Christmas released special edition of Stars followed to further their domination of the album charts.  A sell out 32-date UK tour in 2015 saw the band play in prestigious venues such as The London Palladium.

In June 2015 their second album Act Two was released, charting at No.2 beaten only by Florence & The Machine.  In just one year the band have gone from being completely unknown to selling over 300,000 albums, making them platinum album recording artists!

Collabro collectively are Michael Auger, Richard Hadfield, Jamie Lambert, Matt Pagan and Thomas Redgrave who first got together upstairs at a north London pub, having come together through mutual friends and social media.

Less than five months after meeting for the first time, Collabro won Britain’s Got Talent and the rest, as they say, is history.

Local boy Richard Hadfield, hails from Portslade in Sussex and is looking forward to another successful UK tour and the band’s second trip to America to perform for their USA fans with three dates across the east coast. As a swing busker in Brighton, Richard could never have believed that just that 2 years later he would be selling out the Royal Albert Hall as part of Collabro.

Since being launched into the spot light, avid rugby supporter Richard has been lucky enough to meet his idle Jonny Wilkinson whilst duetting with his favourite Van Jean of all time, Alfie Boe, at Wilkinson’s celebratory testimonial, which he says was his Highlight of the year. Not only has Richard been able to sing for the England rugby team, he also took part in Rugby Aid at Twickenham this year along side other celebs and ex pros. This was s real treat as he got to tackle Mike Tindall and other childhood heroes.

 


Event: Collabro The Act Two Tour

Where: Brighton Centre, Kings Road, Brighton

When: Saturday, March 12, 2016

Time: Doors 6.30pm

Tickets: £21.75 – £110.40

To book tickets online, click here:

Full dates schedule for national tour:

FEBRUARY

23                  NEW BRIGHTON (WIRRAL) – Floral Pavilion

25                  GLASGOW – Royal Concert Hall

26                  HARROGATE – International Centre

27                  BLACKBURN – King Georges

29                  MANCHESTER – Bridgewater Hall

MARCH

2                    IPSWICH – Regent

4                    SOUTHEND – Cliff Pavilion

6                    LLANDUDNO – Cymru Theatre

8                    LIVERPOOL – Philharmonic Hall

9                    CARLISLE – Sands Centre

11                   SHEFFIELD – City Hall

12                  BRIGHTON – Brighton Centre

14                  GATESHEAD – Sage 1

15                  NOTTINGHAM – Royal Concert Hall

17                  CAMBRIDGE – Corn Exchange

18                  STOKE ON TRENT – Regent Theatre

19                  CARDIFF – Motorpoint Arena

21                  BRISTOL – Colston Hall

22                 WATFORD – Colosseum

24                 PLYMOUTH – Pavilions

25                 BOURNEMOUTH – International Centre

26                 LONDON – Royal Albert Hall

28                 OXFORD – New Theatre

29 & 30       BIRMINGHAM – Symphony Hall

APRIL

1                   GRIMSBY – Auditorium

2                   LEICESTER – De Montfort Hall

3                   GUILDFORD – G Live

For more information, click here: 

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