February is the international campaign month of ‘Football v Homophobia’ (FvH) and Kent FA is supporting the initiative.

FvH is a campaign uniting football in opposing homophobia and prejudice against lesbians, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in football.

All year round, FvH enables people to take action against prejudice and discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression in football, and to celebrate and welcome diversity in the game. This culminates in an international show of support in February to raise awareness of the issue and to join together in making a visible stand against prejudice and for inclusion.

Kent FA is pleased to be supporting the campaign this season. Darryl Haden, CEO of Kent FA said:

“It is important for us, as the governing body for football in Kent, to serve all communities across Kent. The match later this month with Charlton Invicta is an excellent way to showcase our commitment to LGBT individuals and drive for eliminating discrimination from football in Kent.”

In the past few months polls have shown that whist football fans would be more accepting than ever of a gay player in their team, as many as 72% of football fans have heard homophobic abuse at football matches.

A recent study on homophobia in sport (Out on the Fields) found that 77% of respondents had witnessed or experienced homophobia in sport in the UK.

Using anti-LGBT language towards someone because you don’t like the way they play football, manage a team, or make a refereeing decision is wrong. It’s against the Laws of the Game and can be a criminal offense, but most importantly, it can make football an intimating and unpleasant place for fellow players, managers, match officials and spectators.

Attitudes in football are changing, but we all need to make sure that the language we use and the way we behave reflects this change. At Kent FA we believe we can make a real difference to the culture of football, and we’d like your support. We know that change starts with education and Kent FA recognises our role to play in leading the way on raising awareness of homophobia and LGBT discrimination within Kent.

As part of this year’s campaign staff at Kent FA will be playing a friendly match against LGBT+ Friendly football team Charlton Invicta.

The match will be kicking off on K sport’s 3G pitch at 6pm on Friday 22^nd February. 

Daniel Crump, Captain of Charlton Invicta stated:

 “County FAs like Kent play a big role in supporting grass roots football, including stamping out discrimination in all forms. It’s really important that the CFA work with clubs like Charlton Invicta to support players from minority groups, including LGBT players and allies. We’re really proud to have affiliated with Charlton Athletic and Kent FA, who are both showing their commitment to fighting homophobia in football. For people like me, clear shows of support for LGBT players and fans helps to demonstrate that people can be themselves when playing or watching the sport they love.”

We invite you to take this opportunity to get behind the campaign and help us show everyone that football is no place for hate or bigotry. There is a pitch side stand with seating available for spectators, a raffle to get involved in and a number of rainbow flags to be waved around.

Find out more about Charlton Invicta

Find out more about the Football v Homophobia campaign

For more information about the Equality and Diversity work at Kent FA, please contact Jess Jones (Equality & Diversity Officer) on Jess.Jones@KentFA.com or call us on 01622 792140.