On Monday, February 10, LGBTQ+ rights charity Stonewall teamed up with the Amateur FA, London FA, London Assembly and Football v Homophobia to host a City Hall event marking Football v Homophobia Month of Action.
The evening, hosted by England’s first openly gay professional referee Ryan Atkin, brought together leading voices shaping LGBTQ+ inclusion in football and beyond. Sevenoaks FC’s Jahmal Howlett-Mundle; Amateur FA inclusion advisory group chair, Esther Jones Russell; footballer Natalie Washington; the FA’s Alex Baker; and Stonewall CEO Simon Blake all shared powerful insights on how we can all play our part in making football everyone’s game.
The panel spoke movingly about the importance of building community through football and highlighted the “tough but necessary” work still needed to tackle homophobia in the game. Research from Out and Out Football, released last month, found that a staggering 74% of LGBTQ+ people surveyed had experienced or heard anti-LGBTQ+ abuse while watching “the beautiful game”.
Statistics released for Stonewall’s annual Rainbow Laces campaign in November 2024 showed that:
- One in 4 LGBTQ+ people (26%) do not feel welcome at live sports events
- One in 4 LGBTQ+ people (27%) do not feel welcome in community sport groups or community team sports
- Nearly a third of LGBTQ+ people (29%) do not feel welcome watching live sport in a pub
- One in 5 LGBTQ+ people (21%) who attended a live sporting event in the last year felt discriminated against because they are LGBTQ+
- One in 5 LGBTQ+ people (22%) who attended a fitness club or sports group in the last year experienced discrimination because of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity.
Simon Blake, Stonewall’s CEO, said: “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. The event with the FA was a powerful example of why we must continue to talk openly about anti-LGBTQ+ prejudice in football.
“Football has the wonderful power to unite people from different backgrounds and identities but too many still feel excluded. Until we get to the point that everybody feels able confident to participate in the sport they love, as a fan or a player in, then there is always more to do.”
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