Last week, gay football team Stonewall FC hit the Emirates stadium to play against the Arsenal FC Staff and the UK Parliamentary Football Team. Now, there’s a threesome nobody ever expected to see…
Homophobia in football is still a taboo that we have yet to defeat. Players are coming out after they have retired with many people asking the question “why is there not an openly gay man in the Premier League?” Stonewall FC is the longest standing and world’s most successful openly gay football club – welcoming players of all sexual orientations.
Jamie Feldman, Treasurer and current player for Stonewall FC, is one of many on a mission to end this latest taboo in football. His latest achievement in doing so was to contact Arsenal FC and create the Arsenal For Everyone Cup.
The Arsenal For Everyone Initiative covers all forms of discrimination in football and attempts to eradicate the barriers to entry that people believe exist. The Arsenal For Everyone Cup was the first attempt by a Premier league football club to openly show their support for a gay football team and by special invitation, the UK Parliamentary Football Team was also invited.
The day itself was a tremendous success for all involved. Jamie Feldman told QX: “The excitement amongst the Stonewall FC players was evident from the day we announced it back in February. We had a limit of 17 players to take to the game and 27 offered themselves to take the day off work. Eric, our manager, ended up choosing a team that included all the Arsenal fans. It’s a lifelong dream for any Arsenal fan, myself included, to play on the same pitch as your idols. Week in, week out I go to watch Arsenal, but to get changed in the changing rooms and walk out the tunnel onto the pitch was a feeling like no other. To be there and experience that with all your close friends will be something that I will never forget. Luckily, Chris Jepson was on hand to take pictures so I can keep reminding myself!”
Jamie continues: “Our manager, physio, players and, of course, the committee who all voluntarily dedicate time and effort to this club, work so hard every year, so to give them all a reward like this was a great feeling. It’s been a long time coming that Stonewall FC gains the support of such a prestigious club like Arsenal. We will only beat the battle of homophobia in football if we get people talking about it. The link-up we have created with Arsenal FC will hopefully continue long into the future. To also have the added support of the UK parliamentary team just shows you how much people back the cause.”
The Speaker, Mr John Bercow, who played on the day commented on both the fantastic work that Arsenal FC were doing by hosting such a competition and also his admiration for what Stonewall FC stand for and are about.
Stonewall FC won the competition itself by beating UKPMFC 3-2 and Arsenal FC Staff 2-0, with a special mention going to Marcos Fernandez, a lifelong Arsenal fan, for scoring a goal at the Emirates.
• For more information about Stonewall Football Club please go to www.stonewallfc.com or contact football@stonewallfc.com, Facebook/stonewallfc or @stonewallfc
Photos by Chris Jepson