My hidn journey: A profsnal soccer player reveals he is gay - ESPN

gay football players soccer

English soccer player Jake Daniels said he is gay on Monday a trailblazg moment for the European men’s game.

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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

Josh Cavallo, the only openly gay top-flight male soccer player the sport, has told CNN that FIFA’s cisn to ban players om wearg “OneLove” armbands at the Qatar 2022 has ma him feel “exclud.” * gay football players soccer *

As the World Cup go on a untry where homosexualy is illegal, many global football fans are havg to reckon wh the sports' soccer remas one of the most popular sports around the world, very few players have been able to e out and enjoy a succsful reer afterwards. Gay players face prsure om teammat, ownership, ach, and fans over their are some of the men who have e out, fightg those stereotyp, and pavg the way for LGBTQ+ athlet who e after them. Rogers me out as gay 2013, beg the first out gay man to pete a top North Amerin pro sports league when he played for the LA Galaxy that same year.

Moments earlier, an opposg player targeted Mart, an openly gay man, wh a homophobic slur, and as they gathered unr a tent at halftime, they discsed how to team was agreement: Somethg need to be done.

"Beg able to have a posive msage e out of a really tough suatn was the silver lg, " he the only openly gay men's profsnal soccer player the Uned Stat -- and one of the few who have ever e out globally -- Mart has e to embrace the signifince of what he reprents, pecially for the LGBTQ+ muny. Play1:48Coll Mart: Locker room support was all I needSan Diego Loyal midfielr Coll Mart says the support om his old teammat at Mnota Uned was a big help to him when he me out as gay.

JAKE DANIELS BE FIRST UK MALE FOOTBALLER TO E OUT AS GAY SCE 1990

Beg an out gay man and a soccer player is still somethg that’s greeted wh homophobia. See eight out and proud male gay footballers. * gay football players soccer *

Around those years, havg to hi, havg to remd myself that like, 'Oh, my bt iend on the team, who jt lled another person a f----t, he isn't really homophobic, but he is jt tryg to be hurtful to that person. The Blackpool forward Jake Daniels has end s of silence wh men’s football to bee the first player the UK to e out as gay sce Jt Fashanu 1990. Photograph: Pl Dennis/TGS Photo/ShutterstockDaniels’s revelatn is a strikg landmark that when men’s football is more engaged wh social issu than any recent time, but still unable to ce progrs LGBTQ reprentatn wh the year Alai Uned’s Josh Cavallo beme the only male top-flight profsnal footballer the world to e out as gay, but others are yet to follow.

In six months the men’s World Cup will be played Qatar, where homosexualy is illegal, and Cavallo revealed to the Guardian he would be “sred” to play at the tournament, the pnacle of world English football specifilly, the shadow of the talented and unfulfilled Fashanu still lgers over the game.

The England ternatnal me out at the end of his reer and was to take his own life eight years later, Fashanu, Jt’s niece, who ns a charable foundatn his name, said that Daniels’s cisn would “e as a huge fort to the many footballers at all levels of the game still secretly livg as gay and who still feel unable to e out”. Josh Cavallo, the only openly gay top-flight male soccer player the sport, has told CNN that FIFA’s cisn to ban players om wearg “OneLove” armbands at the Qatar 2022 has ma him feel “exclud.

JOSH CAVALLO: ONLY OPENLY GAY TOP-FLIGHT MALE FOOTBALLER SAYS FIFA’S ‘ONELOVE’ ARMBAND BAN HAS MA HIM FEEL ‘EXCLUD’

In 1990, Jt Fashanu beme the first football player to publicly e out as gay. Sce then, only seventeen players have done the same. * gay football players soccer *

He me out while playg for Leeds Uned 2013, 23 years after Jt Fashanu took the first step for gay soccer players around the world. Daniels ma headl May 2022 when he beme the send profsnal English soccer player to publicly e out as gay, 32 years after Jt Fashanu boldly claimed the tle.

Many high-profile English people praised him after he me out as gay, cludg Prce Harry, then-Prime Mister Boris Johnson, and England natnal team pta Harry Kane.

Not only is this Atralian pro the only openly gay player the 2022 World Cup, but he’s also GQ’s 2022 Sportsman of the Year.

20 INSPIRG GAY AND LBIAN FOOTBALL (SOCCER) PLAYERS

I'm a brother, son, iend, former pro footballer, entreprenr and annoygly petive lad. I'm a lot of thgs, and one of them is gay. * gay football players soccer *

This is where Matt Pacifici beme known through his Instagram announcement, a former Major League Soccer player who has e out publicly as gay an Instagram post troducg the world to his boyiend. In June 2018, he me out as gay, makg him the only openly gay player any of the big five Amerin sports leagu or any top-tier profsnal men’s natnal soccer league. Mart, 26, announced the news on Twter, statg that he had been openly gay to his iends and fay for years, but never on such a large sle.

Anton has been dubbed the “first high-profile Swedish footballer to announce that he is gay, ” as well as the “send active profsnal football player to e out, ” followg English footballer Jt Fashanu 1990. In December 2017, Davis publicly cricized ments ma by FA chairman Greg Clarke that “profsnal players who out themselv as homosexual would be takg a risk.

HERE ARE EIGHT OUT AND PROUD MALE GAY FOOTBALLERS

The Alai Uned midfielr announced that he was gay a vio posted to the team's Twter acunt Tuday. * gay football players soccer *

The 32-year-old has spoken out to enurage male gay footballers to not be aaid of g out, sharg his own experienc as part of Uefa’s Equal Game mpaign, which aims to promote greater cln and diversy the sport. He is a retired Amerin soccer player who, after his reer end 2011, beme the first male Amerin profsnal soccer player to e out as gay.

Pter experienced homophobia om other players while playg for his lol club and was moted om the first to the fourth team after one of his teammat disvered he was gay. However, there have been several pneerg male gay footballers who cid to e out of the closet and proclaim their sexualy to the world.

8 MALE FOOTBALL PLAYERS WHO DARED TO COME OUT AS GAY

* gay football players soccer *

The South Ain player acknowledg that most of his teammat accepted his sexualy, however, he has faced homophobic slurs om opposg teams.

I don’t wish the hostily I felt on anyone, bee not everyone n survive homophobia a sport like football, ” he told MambaOnle recently.

The Atralian plays for Alai Uned Football Club and has been the victim of shameful homophobic abe om game-goers and on social media. In May 2022, Jake Daniels me out at the age of 17  an open letter on the Blackpool Football Club’s webse, beg at that time the UK’s only openly gay active male profsnal footballer.

MY HIDN JOURNEY: A PROFSNAL SOCCER PLAYER REVEALS HE IS GAY

It has been almost a year sce Josh Cavallo announced he is gay, but even now he still stggl to prehend the far-reachg impact his announcement has had – pecially as he has begun to speak out on major issu, notably the Qatar World Cup. * gay football players soccer *

He also acknowledged that “beg gay, or bi or queer men’s football is still a taboo” and that he is likely to face some gree of homophobia the sport. After stgglg wh his sexualy for years, he me as gay September 2022, makg him the first openly gay player Sttish football sce Jt Fashanu. But tak guts to e out and reveal one’s genr as gay, which is ually an act of urage a world that is not ndned to accept every genr.

So, many profsnal leagu, teams, and players are raisg their voic to fight back agast homophobia so that gay footballers don’t face backlash while g out. In 2020, durg the San Diego Loyal match agast Phoneix Risg FC, Mart released a story of homophobic sults directed toward him. Therefore, a suable environment should be created through tn as a drivg factor, so gay footballers don’t feel prsured to reveal their sexualy.

17-YEAR-OLD SOCCER PLAYER OUT, BEG THE UK'S ONLY OPENLY GAY PROFSNAL FOOTBALLER

It is believed by many that male profsnal footballers are not openly gay or bisexual parison to female players. Read on to fd out more about the homosexual male players football history. * gay football players soccer *

German midfielr Thomas Hzlsperger, the only known gay man to play the Premier League, me out 2014, the year after he gay and havg a reer football never felt like an optn.

Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, is gay, and the thgs are all football, there's still fear a gay teammate might dispt the team environment. The more I uld stay awake, the more I uld put off addrsg how I really a sophomore I was named the program's first-ever first-team All-Amerin. Jake Daniels, a forward for England's Blackpool Football Club, me out as gay on Monday, beg the UK's only active profsnal soccer player and first to e out 30 years.

JOSH CAVALLO BE ONE OF THE FEW PROFSNAL MEN'S FOOTBALLERS TO E OUT AS GAY

Openly gay Leeds Uned director David Haigh says players nfid him - and he believ clubs uld benef mercially if stars e out * gay football players soccer *

Ashamed I would never be able to do what I love and be gay, hidg who I really am to pursue a dream I always wished for as a kid. Male profsnal athlet e out as the first openly gay players currently participatg their rpective sports, cludg NHL hockey player Le Prokop and NFL fensive end Carl Nassib.

ENGLISH SOCCER PLAYER JAKE DANIELS SAYS HE IS GAY

LONDON — English soccer player Jake Daniels said he is gay on Monday a trailblazg moment for the European men’s 17-year-old forward ma the announcement at the end of his first season as a profsnal player wh send divisn club Blackpool. Daniels said he was spired by Josh Cavallo of Atralian team Alai Uned, who is the only openly gay man currently playg a top divisn world soccer followg the 22-year-old midfielr’s announcement October. ”The only openly gay man to have played English soccer’s profsnal leagu was Jt Fashanu, who was not active at a high level when he ma the announcement 1990.

”It is a rary team sports for men to announce they are Wal pta Gareth Thomas was the first active gby profsnal to e out 2009, two years before he retired, and has bee a source of spiratn across first active NFL player to e out as gay was Carl Nassib  2021 while he was at the Las Vegas Rairs. The fensive end was released by the team first openly gay player the NBA was Jason Colls while playg for the Brooklyn Nets of the most proment gay athlet Bra is Olympic divg champn Tom Daley who spired former England soccer pta Casey Stoney to e out 2014.

The world’s only openly gay top‑flight men’s footballer says he would be “sred” to play at the World Cup tournament Qatar next year bee of the emirate’s harsh ban on homosexualy and legal penalti rangg om floggg to lengthy prison terms and Cavallo, 21, who plays for Alai Uned Atralia’s A-League, received a wave of support om football fans and current and former players last month after openg up about his sexualy a vio posted to the club’s social media feeds. ”The announcement ma Cavallo the only out gay player men’s profsnal football, his isolatn stark a sport whose admistrators have lnched high-profile public mpaigns recent years embracg LGBT fans and only a handful of male players have ever e out, ntrast to the women’s game, which has easily blown past the same barrier: more than 40 lbian or bisexual players took part the 2019 women’s World Cup France, acrdg to Fifa.

GAY FOOTBALLER JOSH CAVALLO WOULD BE ‘SRED’ TO PLAY AT WORLD CUP QATAR

Crics have raised the fact that Fifa ntu to award World Cups to untri such as Rsia – where homophobia has been lled a “state‑sponsored” project – and Qatar, where same-sex acts are illegal, as evince of the erng body’s patchy mment to if holdg the tournament a untry wh strict penalti for homosexualy sent the wrong msage to gay footballers and fans, Cavallo, who has played for Atralia’s unr-20s ternatnal si, told the Guardian’s daily news podst that he would be aaid for his safety if asked to participate the 2022 Qatar World Cup. 'I'm a footballer and I'm gay': A-League player Josh Cavallo talks about his sexualy – vio“I read somethg along the l of that [they] give the ath penalty for gay people Qatar, so ’s somethg I’m very sred [of] and wouldn’t really want to go to Qatar for that, ” he said. At the end of the day the World Cup is Qatar and one of the greatt achievements as a profsnal footballer is to play for your untry, and to know that this is a untry that don’t support gay people and puts at risk of our own life, that do sre me and mak me re-evaluate – is my life more important than dog somethg really good my reer?

GAY ATRALIAN FOOTBALLER JOSH CAVALLO SAYS WORLD CUP SHOULDN’T BE GOG TO QATAR, WHERE HOMOSEXUALY IS ILLEGAL

Mlims the untry n be subject to Sharia law that bans any sexual activy outsi marriage wh punishments rangg up to the ath penalty, meang homosexual acts n technilly rult executn, though several human rights reports have said there is no evince any gay people have been executed for the offence.

AT LEAST 20 FOOTBALLERS PREMIER LEAGUE AND CHAMPNSHIP ARE GAY BUT THEY'RE AAID TO E OUT SAYS EX-CLUB BOSS

”Along wh the appallg ndns for migrant workers buildg the astcture for the tournament, the prospect of gay fans or players beg arrted Qatar has dogged Fifa sce the emirate was announced as host of the tournament 2010. The anisatn’s then print, Sepp Blatter, fuelled the ntroversy the same year when he was asked if he had any advice for gay people who wanted to travel to the Gulf state for the petn. But they walk a fe le between acmodatg what are now mastream attus towards gay people much of the world and the untry’s own nservative relig the tournament has approached, Qatari officials have sought to reassure LGBT fans that they will be wele the untry and n exprs themselv – wh lims.

GAY MOSW MOSW CY GUI

”Prsed at the time over how Qataris would react to a gay uple holdg hands, Khater said they would be treated the same as a heterosexual uple. It has been almost a year sce Josh Cavallo announced he is gay, but even now he still stggl to prehend the far-reachg impact his announcement has had – pecially as he has begun to speak out on major issu, notably the Qatar World Cup.

A year on, Cavallo remas the only openly gay top-flight male footballer the world – he plays for Alai Uned Atralia’s A League – but his cisn spired Jake Daniels, a forward for English send divisn club Blackpool, to e out May of this year. “It was jt the uncertaty, seeg that there was no active gay footballer that’s e out before and there was no plan wh , ” he rells. Fashanu beme the first openly gay profsnal footballer after g out 1990 while playg the English top flight, but the backlash he suffered eventually led him to take his own life eight years later.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* GAY FOOTBALL PLAYERS SOCCER

Josh Cavallo: Gay Atralian footballer says World Cup shouldn't be gog to Qatar, where homosexualy is illegal | CNN .

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