Philadelphia Falcons prepare for IGLFA world championships at Gay Games VIII

From The Temple (click HERE to read the full article):

This local, nonprofit amateur adult league is a member of the International Gay and Lesbian Football Association. Started in 1992, the IGLFA currently heads soccer involvement at the Gay Games in Cologne, Germany, where the Falcons are headed for the sixth year.

Founded in 1980 to recognize the athletic talent and dedication of the LGBTQ community, the Gay Games are modeled after the Olympics. Games are held once every four years and feature numerous sports and events with thousands of athletes in participation.

While the Falcons were largely founded and are currently coordinated by gay athletes, the team comprises members of all ages, genders, ethnicities and sexual orientations. Aside from an array of demographics, the team’s most distinguishing attribute is the family that’s been formed through the Falcons’ love for the game.

“I like soccer, but it is also a community,” Pepe Gimenez, a calculus professor at Temple, said. “You belong to a group of very nice people. We go out and travel together. They are very much my second home.”