Author: Pride in Football

#CALLITOUT Pics

Take a look below and you’ll see some pics taken by our brilliant photographer John Merrill during our recent event at the National Football Museum.

The event was also featured on Sky Sports News. You can check out their coverage here too:

#CALLITOUT PROGRAMME

Pride in Football Go to Manchester!

#CALLITOUT exploring fan-based responses to LGBT-Phobia in Football

Friday 23rd June

People’s History Museum

Individual and curated tours of the permanent collection and:

Never Going Underground – the Fight for LGBT+ rights

Love is Not a Crime – 10 years of the Lesbian Immigration Support group.

4pm – Curated Tour of Never Going Underground

6pm – Private View with wine: Continuum

Framing Trans Lives in 21st Century Britain.

Manchester Town Hall

7.30pm – Mayoral Reception

The Lord Mayor of the City of Manchester will meet #CallItOut delegates over a glass of wine.

Gay Village

8.30pm onward – a presence at various venues to eat, drink and network.

Saturday 24th June

11.20am – Workshops

1. LGBTQ Fan Groups – how are they doing and how do you set one up? With Jonathan Waite (Spurs SLO) and fan group organisers

2. #CallItOut – Challenging abusive language and behaviour – Annette Nelson (Diversity and Equality trainer)

3. Preparing for the Russia World Cup – with PiF’s Di Cunningham and Joe White

12.20pm – Lunch

1.00pm – Attitude’s Darren Styles In Conversation with Amal Fashanu

1.20pm – Feedback from Workshops

1.40pm – UEFA Fair Play and Social Responsibility Committee member Paul Elliott on recent policy committing member associations to Diversity, Inclusion and Human Rights (including those concerning Gender and Sexuality)

1.50pm – Panel International Competition Hosts and engagement of LGBTQ fans – with a focus on the Russia World Cup. Chair Jon Holmes (Sky Sports Digital) Panellists Paul Elliott (UEFA) Alexander Agapov (Russian LGBT sports Federation), Tamara Tien, (FARE), Andrej Pisl (Out in Slovenia) Lou Englefield (Pride Sports)

2.40pm – Plenary Session

3.30pm – Close

The National Football Museum

Individual tours of the permanent collection and the current PELÉ: ART, LIFE, FOOTBALL exhibition and delegates can offer perspectives on the NFMs Women’s Game collection to Denise Lambert and Belinda Monkhouse of the Hidden History of Women’s Football project and contribute to John E Goldring’s LGBT Fan group survey.

Sunday 25th June

Cosy Club 3,
Corn Exchange, 37 Hanging Ditch, Manchester M4 3TR

10am – 11.45am
Brunch – please pay for your own!

12pm – 2.30pm
Pride in Football AGM

#CALLITOUT

#CALLITOUT

Join us from 10am till 3pm on 24th June at the National Football Museum Manchester for a programme of speakers and workshops marking the rise of the LGBTQ fan movement.

Out gay racing driver Danny Watts and Justin Fashanu’s niece Amal feature in a line-up including LGBTQ supporters, police, academics and club staff, designed to generate fan-centred solutions for combating Hate Speech and promoting LGBTQ inclusion in the nation’s football stadia.

Delegates can expect a broad, action-focussed agenda with refreshments and buffet lunch and a complement of networking events beginning on Friday 23rd and extending into Sunday 25th

Registration is free with the option of a donation to Pride in Football which works to develop officially recognised supporter groups throughout the Leagues, share good practice and represent the interests of LGBTQ fans to governing bodies.

Click here to book your tickets via Eventbrite

For your diaries!

For your diaries!

A date to add to your diaries, we’re holding a Symposium at the National Football Museum from 23 – 25th June to mark and review the rise of the LGBT Football Fan Group Movement – from just 2 LGBT fan groups 3 years ago there are now 30, a reflection not only of the wish of those fans to work with their clubs to promote inclusion but also of the lack of adequate action from relevant governing bodies to combat homophobic abuse in and around stadia.

Around 120 Delegates from international Sporting and LGBT communities will enjoy a programme of Keynote Speakers, Panels, Workshops and Networking events with additional ‘fringe’ strands including Art and Fashion

Watch out for our #CallitOut campaign on Twitter in the build up to the Manchester event and watch this space for the link to register in the next week or so.

Symposium

We’re planning to run a Symposium to mark the exponential rise in LGBT Supporter Groups in the UK – from 4 to 24 in 2 years! If we’re successful bidding for funding, the event at the National Football Museum will review progress and the impact of PiF groups and focus on areas where more needs to be done for groups to thrive at clubs not currently engaging. Focus will also be on good practice in Inclusion of other Sports Governing Bodies and on the issue of Fan Alienation by International Competition Hosts.

National Coming Out Day

Berlin Conference

Pride in Football at the international Football v Homophobia conference in Berlin

Today is, for those who don’t know, national coming out day. Whilst many use this day to tell their coming out stories and to highlight how, regardless of how it goes, things get better I would like to use it to highlight why we still need such a day. A day that encourages people to not live in fear or self hatred simply for loving who they love or being who they are.

I spent the tail end of last week with other members of Pride in Football in Berlin at the international conference against homophobia in football. There were football fans from as far as Mexico in attendance, we discussed our experiences and challenges and, most importantly, our ways forward for the beautiful game.

In the UK we still have no openly LGBT players in the men’s top flight. We still have LGBT phobia in the stands, a lack of understanding from many clubs and the leagues and, at times, what feels like a lack of respect from governing bodies such as the FA, UEFA and FIFA. It’s all good saying that you believe in football for everyone and diversity but we’ll believe you mean it when we see action. We have the next two World Cups in countries where LGBT people are persecuted. How can the beautiful game be for everyone when we still face this?

Pride in Football will continue to fight to change attitudes in the stands, in clubs and in governing bodies. We do so because we love the beautiful game but don’t have to accept any hate that comes from areas of it. We all want to cheer on our team whether we are gay, bi, lesbian, straight, trans, non binary. However we define ourselves, we also all call ourselves football fans. And it’s time to make sure we can be proud to be one too. We work so that no LGBT fan feels unwelcome at a match and we also hope that one day on National Coming Out Day, a top flight male footballer can follow in the steps of our women’s game and be proud to be openly LGBT.

We have far to go, and we have many challenges but just because it is hard does not mean it is not the right thing to do and does not mean it is unachievable.

I believe in a brighter, prouder future for football and if you want to help us please do get in touch with us to see how you can support our work.

 

Joe White, campaigns officer for Pride in Football