FOOTBALL V HOMOPHOBIA AWARDS
About the Awards
For the past two seasons, Football v Homophobia has held annual Awards to recognise great work on LGBTQ+ inclusion happening across the game. It is time again for you to nominate those clubs, organisations, groups and individuals who you feel have been making a difference in the past year!
The deadline for nominations is the 14th January 2022 and award winners will be announced on Friday 25 February 2022.
We will celebrate the hard work of clubs and individuals over the past year, in the following categories:
- Professional Game
- Non-League Clubs
- Grassroots
- Supporters Group
- Cymru Club
- English County Football Association
- Women’s Game
- Football v Homophobia Hero
- Fare, International work
The Professional Game Award recognises professional football clubs who have shown dedication to improving the landscape of football for LGBTQ+ people and who have worked to create better inclusion and participation of LGBTQ+ people over the past year. 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
- Worked with LGBTQ+ communities through a foundation
The Non-League Club Award has been designed to celebrate the achievements of clubs within the National League System, in relation to their work on LGBTQ+ inclusion in football. The award will be made to a Non-League Club which has gone above and beyond to tackle issues of exclusion in the game over the past year. Non-League 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
The Grassroots Club Award is for any Grassroots club which has excelled at making itself a safe and inclusive environment for LGBTQ+ people. 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
For this award, we are looking for nominees who have worked to make professional football inclusive of LGBTQ+ fans over the past year. This award is open to all football supporters groups 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.
The Cymru Club Award has been designed to celebrate the achievements of clubs within Wales, in relation to their work on LGBTQ+ inclusion in football. The award will be made to a Welsh club at any level which has gone above and beyond to tackle issues of exclusion in the game over the past year. Welsh 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
The County FA Award recognises the important contribution County FAs make to increasing LGBTQ+ inclusion, as well as addressing LGBTQ+phobia within their area. 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
The Women’s Game Award is for an individual or a club in England or Wales 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
The Football v Homophobia Hero Award goes to an individual 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. 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.
The Fare Award for International Work is being launched this year. The winner of the award will be 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 centred 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
SPONSORED BY PUMA

