Welcome to Stonewall FC, the largest LGBT+ football club in the world. danielstorey85 talks to players, coaches and officials at StonewallFC , the ground-breaking club that welcomes allies and strives to compete – as well as spearhead inclusivity
On the pitch, the club can be roughly split into two goals. The first, self-evident, aspect is to offer football purely as an enjoyable pursuit. Alex manages the Thursday five-a-side sessions that have seen numbers grow from 15 to 50 post-Covid, requiring a round robin and seeding system that is enough to make any spreadsheet nerd purr.
“Deliberately creating spaces where you commit to an inclusive culture is what helps the club grow and thrive,” says reserve team manager Hugo. “When people hear about us, it’s because of that culture. When we play other teams, we want players to think ‘that looks like a great club to be part of’. Allies join Stonewall FC for various reasons, but two stick out when speaking to the squad. Coltrane is a first-team player who had played football since the age of four but had drifted away from the game after experiencing multiple incidents of toxic masculinity. He figures that if he can play the football he wants at the level he wants and be an ally, it provides everything he ever wanted.
“You quickly realise that if you play in a straight club, you’re playing to have fun and you’re playing for glory – to do the best you can,” George tells me. She began as a first-team player, then second team and then later interviewed for the coaching role, which she took on last September. There is football on a Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Wednesday. Sophie met the woman who became her wife at the club.
“It becomes a matter of respite. For those who are non-binary and trans, a lot of your time and energy does feel as if it is spent explaining who you are or how things work. What we’re aiming to give is a space where that is the last thing you have to do, a respite from all of that. You can come and play football and just be who you are, free from questions and judgement. I know that my role could be done by someone else, but it’s a privilege to be part of that.
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