Two important football teams in England have made relevant news for combating homophobia on the field and highlighting gay players in the sport. As in Brazil, the Premier League does not have openly gay athletes, perhaps due to prejudice, but unlike here, its teams are mobilizing. Manchester United and Queens Park Rangers have launched partnerships with LGBT Football League teams.
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Stonewall FC, founded in 1981, the team will take on one of the biggest teams in the UK in a friendly match: Manchester United. Without the main group, Manchester assembled key veterans to take on the gay team in a game full of respect and meaning for the LGBTQ community. The event, called 'Team Diversity', will be held at the Premier League team's training complex, the ON Training Complex.
But the good news doesn't end there. As part of LGBT Visibility Month, QPR have partnered with another LGBT football club, the Titans. The Titans are an important team in the United Kingdom, as they are the current champions of the National Gay Football Supporters' League, one of the country's amateur gay leagues. The gay team will receive financial and technical support, as well as more exposure during Queen's matches.
“As LGBT visibility in football remains an issue that needs to be addressed, with high investment campaigns and players coming out to promote equality in the sport, this new partnership seeks great collaboration between two teams, both in a sporting and cultural sense, with diversity,” said the communications consultant. At QPR: “Equality in sport remains one of the roots at the heart of the QPR community.”
Now it's FIFA's turn, right?
