As a sport and industry, football continues to embrace and celebrate the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBTQ+) community and there is still more to do to stop these forms of discriminatory abuse that they experience.
Groups and individuals tackling homophobia, biphobia and transphobia in the game engage regularly and established lobby groups like Stonewall, coupled with the emergence of a vibrant fans movement consisting of LGBTQ+ groups linked to professional clubs, means there is more visibility around this area than ever before.
Campaigns designed to raise awareness of this issue have caught the public’s imagination in recent years. Football v Homophobia began in the UK before developing into an international initiative opposing homophobia at all levels from grassroots to professional clubs.
Latterly, the Rainbow Laces campaign focused on promoting acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBTQ+) footballers, with professional and non-League clubs donning rainbow coloured laces.