Clubs, teams and individuals from across Berks & Bucks are backing Stonewalls Rainbow Laces and becoming active allies for LGBTQ+ people in football.
The national campaign began on Thursday, November 25 and will run through until Sunday, December 12 with Wednesday, December 8 designated as this year’s landmark ‘Wear your Rainbow Laces Day’.
According to Stonewalls website, to date, more than a million people have laced up in support of the campaign and two thirds of sport fans who’ve seen it believe they have a responsibility to stand in solidarity for LGBTQ+ fans of the teams and sports they follow.
However, research conducted in 2017, showed that 43% of LGBTQ+ people think public sporting events aren’t a welcoming space for them. (YouGov for Stonewall, 2017).
This year, Stonewall have evolved the campaign and are asking people not just to wear rainbow laces, but to start a conversation with friends and family, in a club or with teammates about why they wear Rainbow Laces, encouraging people to ‘Lace Up and Speak Up’ together as a sign of commitment.
Maidenhead United, Holyport FC, MK City FC and Caversham United successfully applied and have all pledged to would work closely with the County FA during the campaign to proactively promote LGBTQ+ inclusion & awareness to help make football everyone’s game.
As BBFA Ally Clubs, they are dedicating a male and female first team fixture to Rainbow Laces during the campaign and will share their support via their club websites and social media channels.
Berks & Bucks FA, Communications Officer, Steph Clark, said: “As a County FA we are committed to driving inclusion across the sport and to ensuring that football provides safe and welcoming environments for all to enjoy.
“We believe that sport, and in particular, football, has a truly unique ability to connect people from all walks of life and change lives through shared passion. Football is everyone’s game, and no one should feel excluded from taking part because of who they are.
“We are proud to be working closely with our BBFA Ally Clubs during the Rainbow Laces campaign to help ensure that football in our region really is a game for all.”
Berks & Bucks FA hope as many clubs, teams and individuals as possible will show their support during the campaign, especially on the designated ‘Wear your Rainbow Laces Day’ on Wednesday, December 8. This is when teams, leagues, businesses, schools and leading sports personalities all over the world will be getting together to wear their laces with pride.
For more information, please visit stonewall.org.uk. Alternatively, to find out more about football inclusion work across the region, head to Berks-BucksFA.com
