Footballers have e out as gay to teammat but fear public backlash, says Eni Alo | The Inpennt | The Inpennt

Contents:

• A COMPLETE LIST OF ALL 61 OUT GAY PLAYERS THE WOMEN’S FOOTBALL PREMIER LEAGUE
• FOOTBALLERS HAVE E OUT AS GAY TO TEAMMAT BUT FEAR PUBLIC BACKLASH, SAYS ENI ALO
• 20 INSPIRG GAY AND LBIAN FOOTBALL (SOCCER) PLAYERS
• IN FOC: WHY ARE GAY WOMEN OVER-REPRENTED FOOTBALL?
• WHY ARE MORE FEMALE PROFSNAL FOOTBALLERS OPENLY GAY OR BISEXUAL THAN MALE PLAYERS?

A COMPLETE LIST OF ALL 61 OUT GAY PLAYERS THE WOMEN’S FOOTBALL PREMIER LEAGUE

Wele to the gayt league all of women’s ternatnal sports, or so I believe: the premier league.

While makg my WNBA list and NWSL list, there are about double as many nfirmed straight people as there are nfirmed gay people a league, wh the rt beg unnfirmed eher directn.

However, the Premier League, if you aren’t nfirmed gay, you’re probably jt an unknown, bee there were veryyy few nfirmed straight players. Wh 9 out gay players on the team, there’s no shortage of players and drama to root for.

FOOTBALLERS HAVE E OUT AS GAY TO TEAMMAT BUT FEAR PUBLIC BACKLASH, SAYS ENI ALO

Wh four out gay players on the team, this ranks the middle for gayns, but closer to the top for ter-team romanc, wh Julia Zigtti Olme and Emma Kullberg beg publilly together. If you’re a Leicter fan, I hate to break to you but this is the least gay team the league- at least publicly. The two out gay players aren’t even datg each other!

Liverpool players Yana Daniels and Jasme Matthews are datg, and the other two out gay players are also public relatnships wh cute uple photos on their stagrams! I hontly don’t know anythg about this team, but there’s a lot of gay players and seems like a fun team to cheer for. Among them are 40 out gay, lbian and bisexual women — 38 players, one ach and a traer.

It’s likely there are more lbian and bisexual women on the teams than we know about, pecially sce some participatg untri — like Nigeria, Cameroon and Jamai punish homosexualy wh prison time — and other untri still stggle wh varyg gre of societal homophobia that may keep players closeted. “Go gays!

20 INSPIRG GAY AND LBIAN FOOTBALL (SOCCER) PLAYERS

You n’t w a champnship whout gays on your team – ’s never been done before, ever. Rapoe peted for her untry last summer, durg Pri month, along wh the 39 other proudly gay players the year on om that glor Women’s World Cup, and physil Pri events may be ncelled, but the protts and gathergs have moved onle. The very prence of such loud, toxic and aggrsive homophobic language rerc the ia that homosexualy is not tolerated the spac.

We need to live a footballg world where the utterance of homophobic slurs rults the banishment of the utterer. The Flyg Bats, Nutmegs, Dyke Soccer, Football v Homophobia and Soho FC are great acunts to follow. ”The -print of the Feratn of Gay Gam (FGG), Joanie Evans.

Joanie EvansThe 57-year-old Law Centre worker and Leeds fan is -print of the Feratn of Gay Gam (FGG), founr member/player/ach and manager of Hackney Women’s FC (HWFC), and a former -print of the Internatnal Gay & Lbian Football Associatn (IGLFA). On the male si, the perceptn still is that gay mal don’t play football. I’ve not endured homophobia women’s football, but I have had transphobia om opposn players, ach, even refere.

IN FOC: WHY ARE GAY WOMEN OVER-REPRENTED FOOTBALL?

I’m pleased that, creasgly, the football muny is policg self, and needs to bee unacceptable to e homo/bi/transphobic language football spac. If you ever hear any homophobic abe, stand up and ll out. Oli CowlgLydia GartThe photographer is part of Wonrkid FC, a queer-clive team based Hackney, born of the film Wonrkid by Rhys Chapman, a 2016 short film about a gay male footballer facg homophobia the Premier League.

“Origally, Pri began as a prott, an uprisg om different groups – trans women of lour, gay men, butch lbians – and Pri needs to ntue to be a prott.

WHY ARE MORE FEMALE PROFSNAL FOOTBALLERS OPENLY GAY OR BISEXUAL THAN MALE PLAYERS?

Direct actn needs to be taken at senr levels (om football associatns, club owners, managers, and ach) to drive clivy as standard practice and addrs the systemic homophobia and racism that exists wh profsnal football.

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Readg the Game newsletter sent straight to your box for eeSign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s ee weekly newsletter Former England Women footballer Enla Alo says there are footballers who have told their teammat that they are gay, but rema too aaid of the backlash that they would face if they were to e out , the current director of women’s football at Aston Villa, spoke on Tuday to the Department of Digal, Culture, Media and Sport select mtee regardg the current levels of diversy across football, both the men’s and women’s experienc drew on the current difficulti that people of a Black, Asian and mory ethnic background face wh the sport, but the 102-p ternatnal was also asked about the trouble that homosexual players face over the cisn to e out has not been a sgle Premier League player who has e out at gay while still playg the top flight of English football, wh the late Jt Fashanu g out 1990 durg his reer while lower-league football and German Tomas Hzlsperger only revealg that he is homosexual after he had lled time on his reer 2014. In stark ntrast, a number of female players are openly gay the Women’s Super League, where Alo pots out homosexualy is far more accepted among fans both at gam and on social Alo said that there are current footballers England who have already told their teammat that they are gay, but will not announce publicly bee they fear the backlash that will e om fans and on social media.

In women’s football you have a lot of players who are very fortable wh beg gay and very fortable wh their sexualy. There are gay players and they’re jt as rpected and jt as loved and jt as admired the drsg room among their teams. We had the tragic se of Jt Fashanu takg his own life, and I do thk ’s gog to take for a player to jt say ‘this is who I am, I’m gay and I’m a great footballer too’ and don’t matter.