Every February, our club is united in its support of LGBTQ+ History Month.
The LGBTQ+ community have continually broken down barriers, on and off the pitch, and this month marks the community’s impact on football and beyond. Our Arsenal family stands together to ensure everyone feels welcome to be a Gooner.
Matchdays
We will officially celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month at our Barclays Women’s Super League match against Manchester United (February 17) and our next Premier League home game against Newcastle (February 24). Both Emirates Stadium fixtures will spotlight members of the LGBTQ+ community during our Player of the Month presentations and matchday show: Breakdown Live.
There will also be a traditional football tournament in the Hub ahead of the Newcastle United game between members of GayGooners and the Magpies’ LGBTQ+ supporters group.
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.
LGBTQ+ education in our community
We recognise the need for empathy, understanding and contemporary education when it comes to kicking out homophobia, biphobia and transphobia of our game.
Our Arsenal in the Community team, who are trained by Stonewall to deliver LGBTQ+ awareness sessions, will conduct two education days at the Hub this month, alongside a series of workshops in local schools.
On January 16, Steward Supervisor Training took place to specifically recognise homophobic and transphobic language and chanting, as well as review the process of reporting all forms of discrimination.
Representatives from GayGooners, our LGBTQ+ Arsenal supporters group, also attended the training session. By providing examples of their lived experience, the group was able to truly understand the impact of such discriminatory language and how effective action can be taken to protect our supporters.
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