Spanish Sports Council joins country’s first football anti-homophobia campaign

The Spanish Superior Sports Council (CSD), a governmental body which oversees sport in Spain, is backing the country's first nation-wide campaign aimed at tackling homophobia in football.

The announcement was made during the presentation of the 'Fútbol y Visibilidad LGTBI' exhibition on LGBT inclusion and visibility in football, produced by the Observatorio Español contra la LGTBIfóbia and funded by Fare as part of the Football v Homophobia month of action.

The event was held at the CSD offices on 28 February in Madrid bringing together representatives from football and politics, including Spain's national academy for football coaches (ANEF).

The campaign will see the hashtag #ContraHomofobiaFutbol be used until the end of the year across social media to raise awareness of online homophobic behaviour. In addition to that, the exhibition will tour around several Spanish cities including Sevilla, Málaga,Toledo, Valencia and Valladolid, telling the stories of LGBT athletes and sport and equality trailblazers.

Francisco Rámirez, Director of Observatorio Español contra la LGTBIfóbia, said: "This campaign will reach clubs and sport authorities, but also fans, so that everybody is directly involved in fighting LGBTphobia."

Calling on the involvement of La Liga and professional clubs, Carlos Gascón, Vice-director of CSD professional sports, explained: "This is an important step towards the acceptance of sexual and gender diversity."

The campaign comes days after the Spanish radio Cadena SER published a report giving insight into the high number of racist, sexist and homophobic abuse recorded on social media during Spanish professional football matches, and is looking to help address them.

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