NGOs and club representatives will meet today in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to discuss the issues around LGBT-phobia in Bosnian football and develop strategies to promote the participation of the LGBT community in the sport.

The workshop is organised by the Sarajevo-based Open Fun Football Schools (OFFS) and the Centre for Promotion of Civil Society Doboj and aims to build the capacity of clubs and youth workers on issues around homophobia to foster and further diversity in football.

The initiative is part of a series of interventions funded by Fare and Football v Homophobia (FvH)to address LGBT-phobia on and around the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOT). It comes one year on a large homophobic banner was displayed in Sarajevo's Kosovo stadium showing why human rights groups have raised concerns about attacks on the LGBT community in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

A total of 20 small grants were awarded to European groups for IDAHOT in countries including the UK, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Spain, Greece, Serbia, Germany and Ireland.