Balon Mundial, a multicultural football tournament and one of the highlights among anti-racist summer festivals in Italy, will feature for the first time in 2015 LGBT teams.

The eight edition of the migrant and refugee football tournament organised by the Fare member A.S.D Balon Mundial ONLUS is calling on LGBT teams and clubs across Europe to join the event and help challenged prejudice and the exclusion of LGBT people within immigrant communities.

This year, the event will also feature a conference on the topic (4 July) where participants will address LGBT discrimination in connection to football, a mean to build bridges and facilitate the communication between different communities.

The initiative follows a local campaign recently launched by the event organisers to challenge discrimination against the LGBT community.

Earlier in May, as part of the Fare and Football v Homophobia activities around the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOT), Balon Mundial held a street football tournament to foster new opportunities for LGBT people to participate in football.

The Balon Mundial Tournament is held every year in Turin, capital of the Piedmont region. Between 1 and 5 July, the participating teams will contest the final stages of the tournament which consists of a world cup for migrants in the region. The first stages are currently underway with 36 men's and 12 women's teams participating.

"The idea behind the festival is to promote ways of interaction among communities living in our region." said the event founder Tommaso Pozzato.

The organisers are also calling on campaigners, fans and the general public to join the celebrations and bring colour to the event with messages, banners and chants of support.