STANCE endorsed by The Football Association
3 December 2007
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Dave Raval FA ‘Football for All’ Ambassador said:
"Sadly, sport is a part of society where homophobic attitudes still exist – gay men are seen by some people as too ‘weak’ to compete properly in sport, and gay women laughed at as being too ‘butch’ if they are successful. In reality, neither of these could be further from the truth. Gay sportspeople exist and compete at all levels, from recreational to Olympic gold medal.
In football, there are now many gay and mixed teams competing at a senior level in England, often beating ‘straight’ teams. One of these is a men’s team called Leicester Wildecats. There is even a Gay and Lesbian World Cup, which England won in 2006. That’s more recently than the national England team has won anything!
The point is that sexual orientation does not matter when it comes to sport. If there is someone who is gay, lesbian or bisexual on your team, then players, teachers and coaches should support them just as they would anyone else. Bullying has nothing to do with sport. At the end of the day, if someone scores 5 goals against your team, you don’t need to know their sexuality. You just need to get them to join your team next season!"
Paul Elliott, former Chelsea defender and also a 'Football For All' Ambassador, said the following:
"Football has always been seen as a game for the people and, in this day and age, that means embracing all walks of life and ignoring race, religion, sexuality and colour. As a Football Association Ambassador, as well as a special adviser to the newly formed Equality and Human Rights Commission, I believe that children need to learn from a young age that tackling homophobia and all forms of discrimination is really important and I'm delighted that the resource pack will help teachers get this message across in the classroom."