UK football players group launches homophobia initiative

From the Daily Mail, news of an initiative of the UK's Professional Footballers Association, the trade union for soccer players:

The PFA will send a poster out to all 92 Premier League and Football League clubs to raise awareness of homophobia in the game.

The union has been working with leading figures in the game for the past few months to tackle the issue and will send out the poster to try to create a 'so what?' culture around homosexuality in football and reassure a gay footballer that he will have support from his club, team-mates and the wider public if he does choose to come out.

The poster shows two shirts in a locker room – one with No 7 Gay and the other with No 11 Straight – written on it, with the words ‘When you are part of a team you are never on your own – we are all winners. Football is committed to tackling homophobia’.

The poster has the official backing of the FA, Premier League, Football League, League Managers’ Association and the Kick It Out campaign.

Following the poster, an educational DVD on the subject featuring prominent gay sportsmen and women - including Gareth Thomas, Martina Navratilova ans Swedish footballer Anton Hysen - will be distributed. All 92 clubs have also agreed to sign the government's charter for homophobia and transphobia within sport.

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