Welcome to Pride in Football
We are the network of UK LGBT+ football fans groups.
It’s estimated that around 6% of the population are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Trans+, including those who identify as Non-Binary or Gender-Diverse. In footballing terms, that’s more than 2000 LGBT+ fans at an average Premier League game or 5000 to watch England play at Wembley.
From 2013 onward, supporters at a range of clubs took the initiative by setting up LGBT+ fans groups. This allowed them to establish a dialogue with their respective clubs in order to improve their match day experience. Initially focusing on improvements in areas such as Steward Training, Incident Reporting and Signage.
It has also allowed them to work with their club to promote the visibility of the LGBT+ fanbase. This has been achieved through various methods which have included displaying banners at grounds and through achieving club presence and participation in Pride events and parades.
Despite the progress that has been made over the last 10 years, more needs to be done to curb LGBT+phobic chanting and discrimination. Sadly, this still occurs regularly in English and Welsh Football stadia. Such incidents do little to make LGBT+ supporters feel welcome at games. They can even be enough to put them off attending games in person altogether.
Pride in Football exists to share good practice between our members, help new groups to form and represent the needs and views of LGBT+ supporters to footballing administrators and other key stakeholders. We actively participate in the annual Rainbow Laces campaign and also work with allies and organisations such as Football v Homophobia and Kick It Out, as well as with supporters in general. It is by working together wherever possible that we are able to raise awareness of why seemingly harmless ‘banter’ isn’t acceptable.
It is through working together and by calling out any incidents of discrimination that we can help to end LGBT+phobia in football. Click the link to see our ‘Show Some Respect’ messaging first shown at Wembley Stadium during the England vs Italy game back in 2018.
Head over to our Member Group page to see if your club has an LGBT+ Fans Group in our network. You can also visit our Contact Us page to get in touch with us directly.
We welcome any comments or feedback and are more than happy to help with any questions you might have. As the saying goes, there’s no such thing as a stupid question. So if there’s anything you’re unsure about, or you want to get involved but simply don’t know where to start, just drop us a message and one of the team will be in touch soon.
