Sunday sees over 100 football supporters from around the UK meet in Manchester for a national Football v Homophobia fans’ conference. Participants from Norwich to Cardiff, Newcastle to Exeter, have all signed up for a day of action, networking and exchange on tackling LGBT discrimination in football. Earlier this week it was confirmed that former German International, Thomas Hitzlsperger would take part in a Q&A during the opening plenary of the event. Hitzlsperger, who played for Aston Villa, West Ham and Everton during his career, came out as gay following his retirement from the professional game in January 2014. He is taking part in the conference as part of his work with FARE, the anti-discrimination network for football in Europe.
Claudia Krobitzsch, FARE Programmes Coordinator explains:
“Thomas is a great ambassador for our fight against homophobia. He is demonstrating his commitment to challenging discrimination in the game through a couple of initiatives he is working on with FARE. Through our cooperation with Thomas, we hope to be able make football more inclusive and welcoming for the LGBT community. We are pleased to have the opportunity to invite him to the Football v Homophobia conference and look forward to an exciting Q&A session”
Meanwhile organisers of the event are delighted with Mr Hitzlsperger’s attendance at the conference:
“It’s a great boost to have a former player of Thomas’ stature attend the conference. His participation in the opening plenary will kick off the event in style and we’re sure his input will provide inspiration for participants as they progress into a day packed with discussion on what fans themselves can do to tackle discrimination”
The conference programme includes break-out sessions on international campaigning, tackling transphobia, homophobia and the women’s game, and setting up lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender supporters groups amongst other areas of interest. The day will close with a ‘Question Time’ style event, which will give fans the opportunity to pose questions to a group of panellists from the anti-homophobia movement.
A report from the event to be published next month, aims to set out next steps for campaigners in working positively with fans to tackle LGBT discrimination.
For more information please contact info@footballvhomophobia.com