Hampshire FA has teamed up with leading lesbian, gay, bi and trans equality charity, Stonewall, to show support for lesbian, gay, bi and trans people in sport.
Staff members of the association will be wearing Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces to show that their team accepts everyone without exception, and that homophobic, biphobic and transphobic abuse is not tolerated, on or off the pitch.
Stonewall has developed a range of measures to tackle homophobic, biphobic and transphobic abuse as part of its Rainbow Laces campaign. These include a training programme for sports coaches who with young people so they can ensure they are making sport inclusive. The charity has also developed a sports toolkit for grassroots and community sport to help build awareness and understanding of the issues affecting LGBT people.
Hundreds of schools and clubs have signed up to join in with a week of action to show that we can all play a part in making sport everyone’s game.
Robbie de Santos, Head of Campaigns at Stonewall, said: ‘Unfortunately there are still people who think that anti-LGBT abuse is acceptable, particularly in sport. We are working with sports clubs at all levels to show that supporting diversity, in all its form, is the easiest way to build a more supportive and high-performing team and a strong, loyal following. The good news is that anyone involved in sport can be part of creating a more welcoming environment for LGBT people.’
Matt York the Equality lead in the County FA said “At Hampshire FA inclusion and equality is at the heart of all the work we do, over the last few years we have worked tirelessly with our partners to address challenges in the game, educate our members and remove any barriers to participation. We firmly believe in using the power of football to build a better future for all, and by demonstrating our support for the Rainbow Laces Campaign we hope to showcase to the public and our members that football in Hampshire welcomes everyone to the beautiful game”.
Hampshire FA will be running the campaign from 19th to 25th September, and team members will be wearing their Rainbow Laces for events, workshops and fixtures for the week, with clubs in Hampshire supporting the campaign.
Campaigns
Stonewall’s Week of Action – Rainbow Laces Campaign for Clubs!
Hampshire FA will provide 8 lucky clubs with 25 pairs of laces as part of a draw in support of Stonewalls campaign! To be in with a chance to win, please complete this registration form. The campaign will launch on Friday 16th September and finish on Wednesday 21st September. The 8 lucky clubs will be announced on Thursday 22nd September at 12pm with laces sent to the club the same day. If you club is one of the successful 8, you will be required to do the following:
1. Wear the rainbow laces to show support for Stonewalls campaign at any fixture or training session taking place on Friday 23rd September, Saturday 24th September or Sunday 25th September.
2. Take photos, tweets or any videos of players or club staff wearing the rainbow laces to show support of Stonewalls week of action with all social media messages featuring the supporting hashtag, #TeamPride, tagging in @HampshireFA and @stonewallUK to raise awareness and create a social media drive. Please aim to share these with us by Monday 26th September when the campaign comes to an end.
The 8 lucky clubs will be announced on Hampshire FA’s website and social media site, with the most proactive club receiving two free tickets to attend Hampshire FA’s Charity Race Night on Sunday 15th October 2016 For further details, please contact: [email protected].
Portsmouth FC and Hampshire FA team up to Support Stonewall
Hampshire FA in partnership with Portsmouth FC will be running a social media ‘retweeting’ campaign in support of Hampshire FA and Stonewalls week of action. The social media campaign will commence in the same week from Monday 19th September and finish on Monday 26th September at 12pm. A randomised draw will be conducted, selecting one lucky winner of the social media campaign (one pair of tickets up for grabs!) out of all those who have retweeted the image circulated on Hampshire FA’s Twitter account from Monday 19th September. Keep an eye out and let the retweeting commence!
The lucky winner will be announced in a Tweet on Monday 26th September and messaged for details on how to obtain their tickets for the Respect match taking place on Saturday 1st October, Portsmouth FC v Doncaster Rovers FC, 3pm KO.
Hall of Pride
Are you an LGBT grassroots football hero? Or do you know an LGBT grassroots hero making a difference in Hampshire?
Help us build our ‘Hall of Pride’ and our equality profile in Hampshire by highlighting and embracing the fantastic work being carried out by LGBT grassroots heroes.
Hampshire FA will be collating all profiles which will be displayed on Hampshire FA’s website and highlighted on Hampshire FA’s social media sites.
If you would like to take part in helping us build our equality profile, pleaseprovide the following sending to [email protected]:
1. Your name
2. What you do / your role in grassroots football
3. List any challenges you’ve overcome + advice for creating a welcoming and inclusive environment.
4. Provide a profile image for our website (optional)
