Stonewall win Gay Gold

Stonewall FC have successfully defended their title of Gay Games Champions after defeating the USA (Florida – United FC) by 2-1 in the Cologne sunshine on Saturday afternoon. Stonewall FC originally won the title four years ago, winning gold at the Chicago Gay Games.

Stonewall, who were the tournament favorites, got off to a slow start after losing their first game 3-2 to Milan (Italy). However, after the initial scare they raised their game and continued through the tournament without defeat and scoring freely. 

The London-based outfit are now British, European, World and Gay Olympic Champions and will be starting their season in the Middlesex County Football League (Premier Division – Step 7) in the next couple of weeks. The victory in Cologne makes Stonewall FC the most successful gay football team in history.

In the week long tournament in Cologne, teams competed from across the globe. Teams from Germany, Italy and USA competed in the semi-final, resulting in the English and USA clash in the final, which was played in a stadium next to Cologne's home ground. 

Doug Edward, Stonewall FC captain, commented on their latest success by saying: “It was a great achievement to win in Cologne as the standard was really high. 

"There is a certain amount of pressure on Stonewall FC to win as we have such a strong reputation and again we didn’t disappoint. It was great to not only see us playing good football but we also played with pride and passion that gave us the edge in the tournament. It was fantastic to play the final and have all the crowd supporting us…we even won over the German crowd, who were cheering us on."