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.”

Alex Kay-Jelski: “Who I’m married to, who I’m in a relationship with, who I’m attracted to didn’t affect my ability to do the job and it was never going to.”

There are not too many people that can legitimately claim to have been the first to do something – but Alex Kay-Jelski does not set any real store in his place in history. Currently the editor-in-chief at The Athletic, Key-Jelski started his career at the Daily Mail where he eventually became the first out gay …

Continue reading Alex Kay-Jelski: “Who I’m married to, who I’m in a relationship with, who I’m attracted to didn’t affect my ability to do the job and it was never going to.”

Extra Time 6 with Pride of the Terraces

A common idea when discussing progress for the LGBTQIA+ community is that things are changing generation by generation. There is definitely evidence to suggest young people are more likely to identify as LGBTQIA+ than before, despite the also increasing levels of anti-trans sentiment in particular across various different outlets. That is a sign of the …

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Stuart Bonner: “There are people at the club who credit Saltire with saving their life.”

With the Rainbow Laces campaign once again throwing LGBTQIA+ inclusion in elite sport, specifically men's football, into the spotlight it is only right to give those working for inclusive spaces year-round a platform. At Glasgow's inclusive football club Saltire Thistle, though, the last couple of weeks have been a frustrating time after their players were …

Continue reading Stuart Bonner: “There are people at the club who credit Saltire with saving their life.”

LEAP Sports Scotland announce inaugural Qeltic Games to be held in Perth in 2023

LEAP Sports Scotland have announced the launch of the Qeltic Games - a new grassroots multisport tournament which will bring together LGBTQIA+ sports teams, athletes and allies from Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The first edition of the Games will take place in Perth on August 25-27 2023, alongside Perthshire Pride …

Continue reading LEAP Sports Scotland announce inaugural Qeltic Games to be held in Perth in 2023

Rainbow Laces – Ross County’s Malky Mackay: “You could see how hard it was for Josh in that interview when he kept swallowing, and then he eventually said it, and there was such an outpouring in his favour.”

There are not many people who have seen so many different facets of football as Malky Mackay. Starting out juggling a job in banking with playing as an amateur for Queen's Park, Mackay earned his career changing move to Celtic in 1993, and spent the next five years at the Glasgow giants – being part …

Continue reading Rainbow Laces – Ross County’s Malky Mackay: “You could see how hard it was for Josh in that interview when he kept swallowing, and then he eventually said it, and there was such an outpouring in his favour.”

Lou Englefield: “What keeps me motivated is injustice.”

Chances are, anyone who has done any work towards promoting LGBTQIA+ inclusion in sport in the UK will have come across Lou Englefield at some point. Englefield is the director of Pride Sports, which runs the Football v Homophobia campaign among others, co-chair of Pride House International, a board member of the FARE Network and …

Continue reading Lou Englefield: “What keeps me motivated is injustice.”

Piero Zizzi: “I needed to give back to the community I had turned my back on for six years.”

Whenever you get an event that features countries from all around the world, there is a huge spotlight on it. That was certainly the case with the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and with those being delayed for a year because of the pandemic it suddenly does not feel like there is too long to wait …

Continue reading Piero Zizzi: “I needed to give back to the community I had turned my back on for six years.”

Extra Time 5 with Pride of the Terraces

For many LGBT+ people, the stigma and stereotypes around sport are enough to put them off before ever getting the chance to take part themselves. Already in the current football season we have seen homophobic chants coming from some fans, so it is really no wonder that some would rather avoid that world altogether. Sport …

Continue reading Extra Time 5 with Pride of the Terraces