As part of the celebrations for the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT) the Fare member New Israel Fund (NIF) organised a football match in Jerusalem to take a stand for diversity and inclusion.

The event kicked-off with the opening speech of Gil Ohovski, a representative of the pride community and director of the Open House Sarah K. Meier, a Jerusalem-based centre for the LGBT community, on the importance of the initiative to raise awareness of homophobia and to promote LGBT rights.

Participating teams included team amateur clubs of Hapoel Katamon and Tel Aviv Pride Football Club "Rainball", the biggest LGBT sports clubs in Israel.

The initiative was the first oficial match organised in the country in support of the fight against homophobia.

Speaking ahead of the event, NIF executive director Rachel Liel said: "The aim of the event is help set an agenda for the fight against homophobia in Israel, and using football, a sport that is linked to the values of equality, tolerance and fraternity, makes it easier.

"As other national and international football governing bodies have done before, we hope that after today Israeli football can also join the fight and challenge homophobia."

The initiative was funded through a Fare and Football v Homophobia IDAHOT grant to support football related activities around the day and further a message of diversity across the globe.