Premier League clubs unite with Kick It Out to promote inclusion in LGBT History Month
Kick
It Out, football’s equality and inclusion organisation, has released a
film featuring players from every Premier
League club which seeks to promote LGBT+ inclusion in football and
emphasise that homophobic, biphobic or transphobic (HBT) discrimination
has no place in the game.
The short film features Premier League stars such as Tottenham Hotspur’s Jan Vertonghen, Chelsea’s Eden Hazard
and Alvaro Morata, Manchester United’s Juan Mata, Manchester City’s Vincent Kompany and Arsenal’s Danny Welbeck.
LGBT+ inclusion remains a central part of Kick It Out’s work and the film encourages supporters to report any abuse
they witness or suffer – whether it’s to a steward or to Kick It Out via its free reporting app.
You can view the film here:
https://youtu.be/sdNKg_djon0
The film builds on
Kick It Out’s work last year with the Home Office, True Vision and JUST A BALL GAME?
when the organisation released a series of informative resources that
raise awareness of HBT discrimination within football stadia.
The resources included a
comprehensive booklet and
small pocket guide
designed to
assist stewards and safety officers in their understanding of HBT
discrimination and how to effectively challenge this behaviour, as well
as a short film following five individuals from the LGBT+ community who
discussed the impact of abuse on their matchday
experience.
You can view the film accompany the resources here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Roisin Wood, CEO of Kick It Out,
was delighted to work closely with every Premier League club to produce
the film and send a clear message that HBT discrimination is
unacceptable in football and wider society.
“Kick
It Out have been campaigning for LGBT+ inclusion in football for a long
time and it’s wonderful that we’ve
been able to bring all 20 clubs together for the first time in our
history to take a stand against HBT discrimination. This is about the
collective force of the game uniting to eliminate behaviour that has no
place in the game.
“We also wanted to send out a positive message to fans across the world and make it clear that LGBT+ supporters
are part of the foundations of football – just like any other fan.”
Bill Bush, Executive Director of the Premier League,
gave his endorsement to the film.
“This
film produced by Kick It Out features all our member clubs and
highlights the need to challenge homophobic,
biphobic and transphobic behaviour across the sport. The Premier League
is embraced across the world and we are proud to show our continued
support for LGBT+ inclusion in football.”
