Chris Sherwood: “Every time we go out and play a non-inclusive team, we’re changing perceptions, and I love that.”

There was no sport that Chris Sherwood wouldn't turn his hand to growing up. Being in the UK, football was obviously a big part of his life – and he was in Nottingham Forest's system for a while before being released – but Sherwood also has stories of playing basketball, roller skating, volleyball, table tennis, …

Continue reading Chris Sherwood: “Every time we go out and play a non-inclusive team, we’re changing perceptions, and I love that.”

Proud Doonhamers: “It will get that visibility out there as well for local people to see that other gay people do exist where they live.”

When Queen of the South hosted Edinburgh in the Scottish League One yesterday afternoon, there was an extra visitor in the Palmerston Park terraces – a pride flag. It is the brainchild of the newly-formed LGBTQIA+ supporters' group Proud Doonhamers, which got up and running just a couple of months ago in November. A Facebook …

Continue reading Proud Doonhamers: “It will get that visibility out there as well for local people to see that other gay people do exist where they live.”

Seen & Heard: “I find it really powerful when people see my story and my experience as something that has helped them.”

Seen & Heard is a podcast series hosted by Pride of the Terraces, created in association with LEAP Sports Scotland, Scottish Women in Sport and Scottish Disability Sport. Across the five episodes a variety of topics are discussed, from accessibility of sport in the first instance right through to the impact of global events like …

Continue reading Seen & Heard: “I find it really powerful when people see my story and my experience as something that has helped them.”

Adam Crafton: “If you’re not emotionally engaged and invested, I don’t know if you should really be doing it.”

There are not many journalists out there who have written such unique articles at the intersection of LGBTQIA+ and sport as Adam Crafton. The Athletic's writer has popped up several times over the last couple of years with in-depth features, including pieces on the life – not the death – of Justin Fashanu, what it's …

Continue reading Adam Crafton: “If you’re not emotionally engaged and invested, I don’t know if you should really be doing it.”

Anita Asante: “Football is supposed to be a beacon that brings people from all sorts of walks of life and backgrounds into one shared space.”

For some professional athletes, retirement is an opportunity to take a breath, look around and figure out what the next steps look like. That was not the case for footballer Anita Asante, though, who has barely had a chance to blink since announcing she was hanging up her boots in April, bringing a 19-year playing …

Continue reading Anita Asante: “Football is supposed to be a beacon that brings people from all sorts of walks of life and backgrounds into one shared space.”

Zander Murray: “There’s zero hiding anymore, just me and my organic self that I should have been a long time ago.”

Zander Murray has become the first male Scottish professional football player to come out as gay. The 30-year-old joins the list of people within the British game to have publicly announced their sexuality this year, following the likes of Blackpool teenager Jake Daniels and Scottish referees Craig Napier and Lloyd Wilson. Murray, who broke Gala …

Continue reading Zander Murray: “There’s zero hiding anymore, just me and my organic self that I should have been a long time ago.”

Lloyd Wilson: “The amount of footballers that messaged me, and the amount of fans of clubs that have messaged me – it’s just absolutely incredible.”

It has been a historic spell for LGBTQIA+ representation in men's football. An argument could be made that it stretches back to Josh Cavallo becoming the only openly gay male player in a top division around the world last October. Then, last month, Jake Daniels became the first professional player in the UK men's game …

Continue reading Lloyd Wilson: “The amount of footballers that messaged me, and the amount of fans of clubs that have messaged me – it’s just absolutely incredible.”

Ian Fitzpatrick: “This shouldn’t just be a box ticking exercise. What we’ve done is good, and definitely supported, but let’s see what else we can do.”

Scottish football history was made last week when two referees, Craig Napier and Lloyd Wilson, came out as gay. It is the first time since 1994, when Justin Fashanu was turning out for Hearts, that there has been representation of the LGBTQIA+ community on the pitch in the men's game in Scotland. However, while undoubtedly …

Continue reading Ian Fitzpatrick: “This shouldn’t just be a box ticking exercise. What we’ve done is good, and definitely supported, but let’s see what else we can do.”

Sirri Rånes: “I was able to feel that gut wrenching pain of what it feels like to be excluded, to be deemed as less and unworthy. I didn’t want anyone else to ever feel that.”

From a very early age, Sirri Rånes became aware that sport was rife with inequality – and that has gone on to inspire the path she would take as a career. Rånes currently plays rugby and recreational football, but it was not always that way. Football was her first love, with rugby not properly coming …

Continue reading Sirri Rånes: “I was able to feel that gut wrenching pain of what it feels like to be excluded, to be deemed as less and unworthy. I didn’t want anyone else to ever feel that.”

Glasgow West FC: “We’re trying to break the mould, but we have to go and jump through these hoops.”

Over the last few years, there has been a shift among clubs targeting the LGBTQIA+ community away from the term ‘LGBT+ clubs’ towards ‘inclusive clubs’. This has happened for a variety of reasons, not in the least because many of the clubs are not exclusively LGBTQIA+. They also cater for straight allies, and there has …

Continue reading Glasgow West FC: “We’re trying to break the mould, but we have to go and jump through these hoops.”