On Saturday we were proud to highlight our continued support for Football.v.Homophobia (FvH) during their month of action, by organising and participating in two friendly matches at Newhaven Football Club.

FvH is a campaign that exists to challenge discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression at all levels in football.

For this, our fourteenth season working with FvH, we fielded a team of our staff, friends and sponsors, to take on Brighton LGBTQ+ Sports Society (BLAGSS) in the self-identifying males/non-binary game, and this was followed by an exhibition match against Hollingbury Hawks for self-identifying females/non-binary.

In the self-identifying males/non-binary match, it was a fairly one-sided contest with BLAGSS dominating the majority of the game and even more impressively the scoreline.

After taking an early lead in the first-half and doubling it just before the break, the BLAGSS team showed little mercy in the second period, adding a further five impressive finishes in a 20 minute onslaught which blew away the Sussex side, and saw BLAGSS lift the trophy for the first time since 2020.

The self-identifying females/non-binary fixture was a somewhat tighter affair, in a back-and-forth tie that was played in true spirit of the occasion.

Our Sussex side raced into a two-goal lead but were pegged back by Hollingbury Hawks, going into the break at 2-1. It didn’t take long for the Hawks to draw level in the second-half. But the equaliser seemed to galvanise the Sussex team, who turned on the style to retake the lead, and then restore the two-goal cushion just before the end, thanks to a peach from Inclusion Advisory Group (IAG) member Amy Marshall.

Following the event our Development Officer, Ayscha Woods, said: “I always look forward to running this event. It was another successful, fun and inclusive day, truly showing that football is for all. I’m proud to have been a part of it.”

Fellow Development Officer, George Davis, added: “I would like to say a big thank you to BLAGSS, Hollingbury Hawks and Newhaven Football Club for being so supportive and collaborative to make the day as amazing as it was! Hopefully next year we can claim back the trophy off of BLAGSS and we can retain the female/non-binary trophy…”

(A selection of photographs can be found on Facebook - courtesy of Simon Roe Photography)

For further information about the Football.v.Homophobia campaign please contact FvH:

Football.v.Homophobia
E: info@footballvhomophobia.com