The Football v Transphobia (FvT) Week of Action kicks off today (24th March) until the 31 March.

The third year of the Football v Transphobia campaign will highlight the contribution trans people are making to football and show how everyone involved in football can be active allies to trans and non-binary people and support their inclusion.

The #TransFootyAlly social media campaign calls for allies to share how the game is enriched by the presence of trans and non-binary people. People are encouraged to share videos and images on social media explaining who they are, what they do in football and their role as an ally.

Trans and non-binary people are also encouraged to share content about how cisgender people have been allies to them or to share top tips for those wanting to be allies in the game.

Football v Homophobia Campaign Director, Lou Englefield says “Allies are so important in creating welcoming spaces and inclusive football. Trans and non-binary people make up about 1.5% of the population and they need our support. As a lesbian, I have not always felt welcomed in football. It’s time for me to stand up for my trans colleagues and friends in the game”

Natalie Washington, who leads the FVT campaign explains, “Trans people still face real barriers getting into football. Fears and experience of exclusion can put people off taking part in the game they love. In the vast majority of cases there is little or no provision for non-binary people whatsoever. We hope by continuing to celebrate trans and non-binary identities in the game, and by providing resources to help clubs, we can help football become a great place for everyone”

The campaign will be sharing content on how and where to play, highlighting routes to participation for trans men and women, as well as some of the playing opportunities for non-binary people.

There will be other online activities throughout the week including an LGBT+ 101 workshop and a Talking Trans event with the Football v Homophobia Youth Panel. More information and infographics on trans inclusion for football stakeholders can be found here: https://www.footballvhomophobia.com/fvt/

The FvT Week of Action will take place the week leading up to Trans Day of Visibility on March 31st. During the Week of Action, using #FvT2021, and/or #TransFootyAlly

This year’s campaign will focus largely on online activity.

Football v Homophobia can be tagged on socials as follows:

Twitter: @fvhtweets
Instagram: @football_v_homophobia
Facebook: @fvhbt

Contact: info@footballvhomophobia.com

Key definitions:

Cisgender – A cisgender person is someone whose gender identity matches the sex/gender they were assigned at birth.

Transgender – A transgender person is someone who does not identify with the sex/gender they were assigned at birth. It can include trans men, trans women and some non-binary people.

Non-binary – A non-binary person does not fit into or follow the binary understanding of gender (that there are exclusively two distinct genders: male and female). Some non-binary people may use the pronouns they/them