Throughout February we will come together with the Arsenal family to celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month and mark the continued importance the LGBTQ+ community has on football and beyond.
We will mark the month officially at our FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup semi-final against Manchester City (February 8) and our next Premier League home game against Brentford (February 11). Keep an eye out for our activities at these fixtures as we stand together to ensure everyone feels welcome to be a Gooner.
10 years of GayGooners
This February also marks the 10th anniversary of our GayGooners supporters’ group. GayGooners exists to unite LGBTQ+ Arsenal supporters and allies around the world. The group has grown from being the first LGBTQ+ supporters’ club in British football, to being the largest of its kind in the world today.
During those 10 years, GayGooners has worked tirelessly to spread the message that everybody should feel welcome at Arsenal. True trailblazers, and fearless campaigners, GayGooners has had a profound influence on ensuring visibility for the LGBTQ+ community in football and wider sport.
GayGooners campaign manager Jacob Jefferson reflected on the sense of belonging he now has as a member of our supporters’ group. "Growing up I never felt comfortable being my true self around football, despite my love and passion for it. GayGooners gave me a space to be myself and to support The Arsenal even more than I did before. I’m extremely grateful for the group’s existence."
For co-chair Carl Fearn, who has been an Arsenal supporter since 1971, GayGooners represented the first time that he felt a true connection to the club.
“GGs are like family. Attending meetups and games means the world to me. The diversity in the group truly reflects an 'Arsenal for Everyone'."
During this month and throughout 2023 we’ll be hearing more from our GayGooners, including some fascinating insight on how it was founded by those who were there.
LGBTQ+ education in our community
Over the years, Arsenal in the Community has taken an active role in providing LGBTQ+ education and tackling homophobia. Our community team are trained by Stonewall to deliver LGBTQ+ awareness sessions to staff and community groups, and this year, we are delivering education sessions in local primary schools in association with Camden and Islington LGBT Forum.
Our collective action in February builds on our continued support for Stonewall and the Premier League’s Rainbow Laces campaign, to ultimately kick homophobia, biphobia and transphobia out of our game for good.
In October 2022, we teamed up with adidas to create the adidas x Arsenal Love Unites kit, inspired by the activists of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising and proudly worn by our players. Jahmal Howlett-Mundle, Lucy Clark, and Lianne Sanderson also joined us pitchside for our respective Premier League and Women’s Super League games, to share their experiences as LGBTQ+ people within football.
In July 2022, Mikel Arteta and our men's players surprised GayGooners at London Colney before the Pride in London Parade. Together we celebrated the return of the Pride in style with an open-top, double-decker float, adorned with rainbow colours and the Arsenal and GayGooners logos.
Everyone in the Arsenal family can make a difference by having conversations, listening to others, understanding the stigma that still surrounds the LGBTQ+ community and calling out discriminatory behaviour when we see it.
As stewards of our club and our values, we ask supporters at Emirates Stadium to report any form of discrimination and abuse by texting 67777 with their block, row and seat number.
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