FVH AWARDS
ABOUT THE AWARDS
Who deserves recognition for helping to make football more LGBTQ+ inclusive? It's time to nominate them for the Football v Homophobia Awards!
The nominations window is now CLOSED for the 6th annual edition of the FvH Awards.
A panel of judges will decide a shortlist of three in each category, based upon the quality of the nominations received. Those shortlisted will be invited to attend the gala awards ceremony which will be held on the evening of Friday 7 March 2025 at the iconic Òran Mór venue in Glasgow.
The FvH Awards is the only dedicated event of its kind for our community of LGBTQ+ people and allies in the world's most popular sport. Supported from governing bodies down to the grassroots, it's been covered by BBC Sport, Sky Sports and other major media outlets, and offers the ideal platform to showcase the great and good of LGBTQ+ football.
The categories to nominate in...
- Professional Game
- Semi-Professional Game
- Grassroots Club
- Supporters Group
- FvH Cymru
- County FA
- FvH Hero
- Women’s Game
- Football v Homophobia Scotland
- International Award
- Football Media
- Community Trust or Foundation
Nominations are now closed!
Professional Game Award
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The Professional Game Award is for, in England, men's clubs in steps 1 - 4 (Premier League, EFL Championship, League 1 and League 2) and clubs in the Women's Super League and Women’s Championship; in Scotland, men's clubs in steps 1- 3 (Scottish Premiership, SPFL Championship, League 1) and clubs in the women's SWPL 1; and in Wales, men's clubs in the JD Cymru Premier and JD Cymru North & South, and the women's Adran Premier. This category is NOT for individuals or for supporters clubs.
We want to see clubs nominated who have tried to integrate LGBTQ+ inclusion into the foundations of the club. Professional clubs could have, for example;
- Publicly supported LGBTQ+ people at games, on social media channels or through work with players or fans
- Worked with internal staff or players to help them gain a better understanding of the issues around LGBTQ+ inclusion in football
- Taken part in the Month of Action, Trans Week of Action, Rainbow Laces or engaged in other similar campaigns
- Engaged with or supported an LGBTQ+ supporter’s group
Semi-Professional Game
This award is for clubs outside the professional football leagues and includes, in England, men's clubs in steps 5 - 8 (all divisions in the National League, and all divisions in the Northern Premier League, Southern League, and Isthmian League) and clubs in all divisions of the FA Women's National League; in Scotland, men's clubs in steps 4 - 5 (League 2, the Highland League and the Lowland League) and women's clubs in steps 2 - 4 (SWPL 2, Championship and League 1); and in Wales, men's clubs in the Ardal leagues (all four divisions) and women's clubs in the Adran North and Adran South. The award will be made to a Semi-Pro Club which has gone above and beyond to tackle issues of exclusion in the game over the past year.
Semi-pro Clubs could have, for example:
- Worked internally to make the club more inclusive for LGBTQ+ people
- Publicly supported the inclusion of LGBTQ+ people
- Implemented training for staff, volunteers and players
- Taken part in the Month of Action, Trans Week of Action, Rainbow Laces or engaged in other similar campaigns/charities
- Worked with the community to promote a better understanding of the issues faced by LGBTQ+ people in football, or worked on greater inclusion of LGBTQ+ people within the club
Grassroots Clubs
The Grassroots Club Award is for any Grassroots club in the UK which has excelled at making itself a safe and inclusive environment for LGBTQ+ people. This includes all clubs which do not fall into either the Professional Game or Semi-Professional Game categories. Nominations for individual people will not be considered in this category. We are looking to see nominations for Grassroots clubs who have publicly taken a stand against LGBTQ+phobia and actively worked to make their club inclusive over the past year. Grassroots clubs could have:
- Worked within the club to actively promote LGBTQ+ inclusion and tackle LGBTQ+phobia
- Run internal club campaigns and engaged with the Month of Action, Trans Week of Action, Rainbow Laces or similar campaigns, to promote LGBTQ+ inclusion and tackle LGBTQ+ phobia
- Worked with players, coaches, parents/spectators and/or committee members to promote LGBTQ+ inclusion and tackle LGBTQ+phobia
- Worked with LGBTQ+ organisations/community to increase understanding of issues faced by LGBTQ+ people within football and to reduce barriers to participation
SUPPORTERS GROUP
For this award, we are looking for nominees who have worked to make professional or semi-professional football inclusive of LGBTQ+ fans over the past year. This award is open to all UK-based football supporters groups, but not individual people, and we welcome applications from across the fan movement. For example, supporters groups could have:
- Taken part in the Month of Action, Trans Week of Action, Rainbow Laces or other similar campaigns
- Worked with their club to give a voice to LGBTQ+ fans and make positive changes to the experience of LGBTQ+ supporters
- Worked to give LGBTQ+ people confidence to attend matches and re-engage LGBTQ+ fans who may have stopped attending
- Created strong alliances with other fan groups and initiated dialogue amongst fans on LGBTQ+ inclusion.
FVH CYMRU
The FvH Cymru Award is for a club, individual or organisation in Wales who has worked to make Welsh football more inclusive of LGBTQ+ people over the past year. Nominees are welcome from any level and aspect of the Welsh game. Nominees for this award may have:
- Worked to create LGBTQ+ inclusive football spaces in Wales
- Worked to tackle LGBTQ+phobia in the Welsh game
- Taken part in the Month of Action, Trans Week of Action, Rainbow Laces or engaged in other similar campaigns/charities
- Used their platform to speak out against LGBTQ+phobia
County FA
Sponsored by
The County FA Award recognises the important contribution English County FAs make to increasing LGBTQ+ inclusion, as well as addressing LGBTQ+phobia within their area. For help with this award, a list of all County FAs can be found here. This award is open for nominations for English County FAs who, for example, may have:
- Provided support to LGBTQ+ clubs or LGBTQ+ football activity within their county
- Embedded LGBTQ+ inclusion across the organisation, including within decision making
- Undertaken training or education in relation to LGBTQ+ inclusion
- Ensured LGBTQ+ inclusive communications across social media, website and public communications, as well as sharing messages about tackling LGBTQ+phobia and discrimination to clubs and leagues.
- Engaged with the Month of Action, Trans Week of Action, Rainbow Laces or other LGBTQ+ campaigns
- Engaged local LGBTQ+ groups and consulted with the community to understand the issues LGBTQ+ people face in football and increasing access to participation
- Dealt positively and proactively with cases of discrimination
FvH Hero
The Football v Homophobia Hero Award goes to an individual in the UK who has shown dedication and passion for improving football, by fighting LGBTQ+phobia and promoting better inclusion for LGBTQ+ people, making the beautiful game, a game for everyone! This individual could be nominated for one extraordinary piece of work, or for consistent work over a period of time at any level of football. Please be aware that groups/clubs will not be considered for this award, it is for individuals only. The Football v Homophobia Hero should be someone who, for example:
- Consistently demonstrates their passion, skills and knowledge in football and in the issues facing the LGBTQ+ community
- Works in an innovative and sustainable way to improve football for LGBTQ+ people
- Has the support of their peers
- Is a role model and inspires those around them to fight LGBTQ+phobia and create more inclusive spaces in the game.
Women’s Game
The Women’s Game Award is for a club, group, league or individual in England, Wales or Scotland who has worked to make the women’s game more inclusive of LGBTQ+ people in the UK over the past year. Nominees are welcome from any level and aspect of the women’s game. Nominees for this award may have:
- Opened women’s teams to trans and non-binary players
- Worked to create LGBTQ+ inclusive women’s football spaces
- Worked to tackle LGBTQ+phobia in the women’s game
- Taken part in the Month of Action, Trans Week of Action, Rainbow Laces or engaged in other similar campaigns/charities
- Used their platform to speak out against LGBTQ+phobia or for LGBTQ+ inclusion
FvH Scotland
Sponsored by
The Football v Homophobia Scotland Award is for any individual, group, league or club who has made a difference to LGBTQ+ inclusion in Scottish football. We are looking for nominations from any individual, group or club that have made an impact within their own communities. Nominees this award may have;
- Spearheaded LGBTQ+ inclusion initiatives within their football community.
- Has acted as an exceptional role model within Scottish football.
- Taken part in the Month of Action, Trans Week of Action, Rainbow Laces or engaged in other similar campaigns.
- Worked with LGBTQ+ community to reduce barriers to participation.
International Award
Sponsored by
The International Award is for a football stakeholder; any organisation big or small that has delivered exceptional work over the past 12 months to make football a better place for LGBTQ+ people. Whether it’s enabling LGBTQ+ people to get involved in the game, using football as a tool to create positive outcomes for LGBTQ+ communities, or educating young people in football environments, our winner will:
- Have centered the experience of LGBTQ+ people or one LGBTQ+ group in particular
- Be able to describe the need for their work
- Quantify the impact of their work in its local context
Football Media
The football media award will go to a football journalist, content creator or media outlet which has worked respectfully and inclusively in relation to LGBTQ+ people in football. In particular, the judges are looking for those who:
- Amplified the voices/profile of LGBTQ+ people in football
- Challenged assumptions about LGBTQ+ people’s place in football
- Investigated the impact of football on LGBTQ+ people/communities
- Celebrated the contribution of LGBTQ+ people to football
Community Trust or Foundation
The Community Trust or Foundation Award recognises the important contribution Professional and Semi-Professional Club charities make to increasing LGBTQ+ inclusion, as well as addressing LGBTQ+phobia within their community. This award is open to nominations for football Community Trusts or Foundations which, for example, may have:
- Provided support to LGBTQ+ clubs or LGBTQ+ football activity within their community
- Worked to spread a message of LGBTQ+ inclusion to local young people
- Embedded LGBTQ+ inclusion across the organisation, including within decision making
- Undertaken training or education in relation to LGBTQ+ inclusion
- Ensured LGBTQ+ inclusive communications across social media, website and public communications
- Engaged with the Month of Action, Trans Week of Action, Rainbow Laces or other LGBTQ+ campaigns
- Engaged local LGBTQ+ groups and consulted with the community to understand the issues LGBTQ+ people face in football and increasing access to participation
Award sponsor
