Village Manchester support the 2018 Rainbow Laces campaign

Manchester FA supports Rainbow Laces Campaign

Manchester FA lends its backing to Stonewall's Rainbow Laces Campaign for 20/18

The campaign encourages everyone within football to support equality and inclusivity for LGBT+ and generates support in tackling homophobia, transphobia and biphobia abuse in the game.

Over the past 2 years, Manchester FA has advocated this work and supported Stonewall’s agenda to make football everyone’s game by encouraging clubs and individuals to share this message.

Andy Baker, Football Development Manager at Manchester FA, spoke of the support shown to the campaign: “Manchester is a diverse and welcoming city and as part of that, we ensure that we facilitate football opportunities for all, including the LGBT+ community. We’re proud to be supporting the Rainbow Laces campaign again this year and we are encouraging everyone associated with Manchester FA to promote Stonewall’s message within their own networks.”

Local club, Village Manchester FC, was formed in 1996 to give gay players a safe and welcoming space to play within its two senior teams, who play in the Lancashire & Cheshire Amateur League and Manchester Amateur Sunday Football League. This weekend, VMFC will support the Rainbow Laces campaign as they head to Glasgow to play in the Gay Football Supporters’ Network National Cup quarter-finals, with the hope of retaining their 2017/18 title win.

Current VMFC player Jay Correia explains: “We’re looking forward to representing Manchester this weekend and we will hopefully take a step closer to being the first ever team to retain the cup. At the match, we’ll be supporting the Rainbow Laces campaign as it is a fantastic message that, year on year, we see impacting the game with growing support from our peers.”

Committee Member Steve Joyce added: “The campaign started out in football and now roles out across most sports. It is a great way for everyone to celebrate the diversity that exists within the game and shows that football really is for all.”

In addition to grassroots teams, professional clubs in the Premier League, EFL and WSL will show their support for the Rainbow Laces campaign in the coming week with themed activities held at matches and coverage across online channels to raise awareness of Stonewall’s work.

Further information on Rainbow Laces can be found here and if you’d like more information on Manchester FA’s commitment to inclusivity, visit our website.

For the latest news from our Inclusion Advisory Board (IAB),

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