01.02.2018

Football v Homophobia month of action underway - Get involved

Organised by Football v Homophobia (FvH), the FvH month of action is an international campaign aimed at tackling anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) discrimination in football. The period is important to drive change in a unified way and getting involved is easy.

The month-long campaign is also aimed at supporting activities to make football and its structures inclusive to all, and increasing the participation and representation of LGBT+ people in football.

To get fans and the wider audience behind the campaign, FvH has produced a series of how-to guides on how to become a FvH activist. The guides are aimed at engaging fan groupsand improving fan behaviour, capacitate physical education teachers to talk about the topic, inform coaches about policies on discrimination in football, and increase the participation of grassroots and professional players.

In addition to this, a referee factsheet has also been produced to help make football welcoming for LGBT+ people.

In 2018, Fare and FvH awarded 21 small grants to groups to encourage grassroots activity against homophobia in football across Europe.

Football matches and tournaments, workshops on LGBT+ rights and equality, film screenings, exhibitions, roundtables and Question & Answer sessions and nation-wide campaigns are among the activities funded by the Fare grants that will send an unwavering message against of homophobia.

Activities will take place in countries including: Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Finland, France, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.

Highlight events include the Football People - Whole Rainbow of People roundtable on 9 February in Slovenia, which will see representatives from UEFA, Fare, the Slovenian Football Association and gay referee Ryan Atkin address homophobia in football, and a similar nation-wide roundtable in Macedonia on 26 February.

A series of exhibitions, matches, film screenings and lectures be held in six Russian cities, four of which World Cup host cities; and, a workshop on South American women's football on 22 February, followed by a larger conference on the International Women's Day on equality and diversity themes at the National Football Museum, in Manchester, England.

Fans, activists, rights groups, clubs and others can get involved by attending and taking part in events near them, by promoting the month of action on social media and among their networks, or by running an activity. A comprehensive list of activities is available here. To include yours, register it here.

FvH is part of the LGBT History month, a wider movement which celebrates lives and achievements of the LGBT community, promotes tolerance and raises awareness of the prejudices faced by LGBT people.

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