Coll Mart is U.S. soccer's only openly gay male player, and he's workg to make the game more clive for future LGBTQ+ players - ESPN

Contents:

• HOTON'S GAY SOCCER CLUB ENJOYS QATAR WORLD CUP ON S OWN TERMS
• PRI ON THE PCH: DO SOCCER HAVE A GAY PROBLEM?
• COLL MART IS U.S. SOCCER'S ONLY OPENLY GAY MALE PLAYER, AND HE'S WORKG TO MAKE THE GAME MORE CLIVE FOR FUTURE LGBTQ+ PLAYERS

HOTON'S GAY SOCCER CLUB ENJOYS QATAR WORLD CUP ON S OWN TERMS

The Internatnal Gay & Lbian Football Associatn (IGLFA) was found 1992 orr to help promote and foster the growth of LGTBQ football world wi. No one left their seats durg halftime of a World Cup watch party at Buddy's gay bar Friday as drag queen Jacklyn Dr raffled away sex toys, morated a game lled "Jgle Balls" and hosted soccer trivia -- all wh a 10-mute span.

But toward the end of the show, Je Mola — print of Space Cy Pri FC, the LGBTQ+ soccer club hostg the event — took the mic to offer more sober wasn't an easy choice for the club, Mola explaed, to buy to a World Cup beg hosted by Qatar, a untry where homosexualy is punishable unr the law. But they'd seen how others had ed the tournament as an opportuny to speak up about gay rights, and as lifelong soccer fans, they weren't gog to let someone else dictate their enjoyment of the world's most beloved sportg event. He also held a moment of silence for the victims of the Club Q shootg last weekend, when five people were killed and 18 more were jured after a man wh an AR-15-style rifle opened fire the gay bar Colorado Sprgs, Colo.

PRI ON THE PCH: DO SOCCER HAVE A GAY PROBLEM?

Club Q shootg: At Hoton gay bars, news of Colorado shootg met wh strengthened rolve. "It's fantastic to see straight, gay, lbian, women (and) men e out here and jt jo together to enjoy what we love, which is soccer, " Mola said.

For Zachary Stewart, one of Space Cy Pri FC's founrs, the ia that the ternatnal soccer muny would speak up support of gay rights on a world stage was unthkable when he was growg up ral Pennsylvania. And then I found gay soccer and found wasn't all jt the stereotyp.

One man, who asked not to be named bee he has not publicly e out as gay, sipped a beer at Buddy's as he watched the send half of the U.

COLL MART IS U.S. SOCCER'S ONLY OPENLY GAY MALE PLAYER, AND HE'S WORKG TO MAKE THE GAME MORE CLIVE FOR FUTURE LGBTQ+ PLAYERS

In 1980, an ad was placed the Village Voice lookg for gay men terted playg soccer an area of Central Park known as the Ramble. This was the birth of the New York Ramblers, the world’s first anized openly-gay soccer club. At Gay Basketball League.