The Same Team Jersey

Background

This month the world?celebrates the FIFA World Cup and Pride; the most popular event for the?most popular sport on the planet running in parallel with a celebration of LGBTQ individuals and communities everywhere. Both events should be global celebrations of inclusion and acceptance. Sadly, soccer is still one of the most homophobic sports around, with very few professional male footballers openly gay. And to top it off, it’s illegal to be LGBTQ in Russia, the host nation for the World Cup. But it's not just a challenge for soccer culture in Russia... According to research by Stonewall charity at the end of last year... 90% of Egyptian fans are uncomfortable with the idea of a gay or bisexual soccer player representing their national team. Zero male soccer players currently playing in Europe’s top five leagues have come out as gay. 42% of British fans have witnessed homophobic behaviour. 25% of Spanish fans would be upset if someone in the national team were gay/bisexual. Brazil has seen the largest decline in tolerance in the last three years, with support for LGBTQ players dropping from 67% in 2014 to 60% in 2017. This is just the beginning - we are just scratching the surface here.