A love for a football team is something most people can relate to. You can go to a match and make friends with someone down to the simple fact they support the same team as you. It doesn’t matter who they are, what they work as or where they’re from; you get on just because of the team you both support. This also works in other ways, it creates rivalries. It creates an atmosphere where you can see your friends who support other teams and laugh at each other based on how your team performed in comparison to theirs. This is all fun and well when kept within a boundary.
Similar to the Kick Racism Out of Football post, which you can read by clicking on the link. The Premier League are now targeting another problem that exists both in and out of Football.
The Problem
The LGBT+ community suffers in and out of Football. Although there is a rising awareness of the community and this is leading to more acceptance, acceptance is something the community shouldn’t even have to seek. If you can make friends with somebody without their skin colour being taken into account, then why should their sexuality? Football is an inclusive sport in which for 90 minutes everyone can forget about their problems outside of the sport and share a common love with like-minded people.
What the Premier League are doing to raise awareness
Between the 3rd-9th of December the Premier League will be proudly standing alongside Stonewall to promote equality and diversity. This will result in a rebranding of each matchday between these dates featuring the iconic rainbow design. Most prominent will be that footballers will play in rainbow laces. Although this may not seem like much, the inclusion of the LGBT+ community within the sport will allow them to feel much more comfortable and promote a better atmosphere during and after the campaign in which every football fan feels they can attend a match regardless of who they are.
Will this be an effective campaign and is it a step in the right direction to help include the LGBT+ community within Football
With 2 in 5 LGBT people not thinking sport is welcoming, this is something that the Premier League is trying to target. If fans, players and the media can support this movement then it will only show how Football is a sport for all to love. I believe it is a step in the right direction and will really raise awareness, I believe it is something that should be continued after the campaign and nobody should ever feel they can’t attend a match. Ultimately, the Premier League are leading by example this season by bringing people together and this can only make both clubs and communities stronger.
For more information on this please visit the official Premier Leagues Campaign Post.
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