We came together as a club this weekend to mark Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces campaign, as we collectively strive to kick homophobia, biphobia and transphobia out of our game.
At our Premier League fixture against Nottingham Forest, we were lucky to be joined pitchside by Jahmal Howlett-Mundle, semi-pro footballer and LGBTQ+ advocate, to tell his story to the Emirates crowd. Skipper Martin Odegaard also presented Jahmal with a commemorative Rainbow Laces Arsenal shirt.
Later on Sunday evening, we welcomed two special guests pitchside at Meadow Park ahead of kick-off in our Women’s Super League clash with West Ham United. Lucy Clark, the first out transgender referee in English football, spoke about her experiences in the game, LGBTQ+ allyship and becoming a Gooner. Lucy was also presented with a commemorative Rainbow Laces Arsenal shirt by captain Kim Little.
Arsenal legend Lianne Sanderson also spoke to our sell-out crowd about the importance of LGBTQ+ representation in the game and the changes she’s observed since beginning her playing career.
Lianne then presented Vivianne Miedema with a trophy to commemorate her 150th appearance for the Gunners at half-time.
After a day of celebrating our club wins off the pitch, our LGBTQ+ supporters club Gay Gooners then took to the field to play some football of their own in the Football For All Cup, beating Tottenham Hotspur's Lilywhites 4-0 on Sunday to reach the semi-final. Captained by Arthur Webber, our Gay Gooners side unfortunately fell to eventual victors Millwall Romans 3-0.
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