Rainbow Laces for Fleetwood Town
Saturday's Sky Bet League One match between Argyle and Fleetwood Town at Home Park is our dedicated Rainbow Laces fixture, as we proudly highlight to the football community that everyone can play this beautiful game.
This Saturday, supporters will see Argyle proudly presenting rainbow flags throughout the stadium, including in PAFC Displays' pre-match flag parade, as well as on all four corner flags at the Theatre of Greens.
Off the pitch, in addition to our LGBTQ+ dedicated episode of The Argyle Podcast, special guests Jak Ball and Argyle Pride's Chris Corbett appear as guests on Argyle TV coverage to mark the annual fixture.
Football fans have provided a tremendous amount of support for LGBTQ+ athletes over the past five years. Twelve million participants participate each year, and more than a million people have laced up to make sport a more welcoming place for all.
New research from ICM/Walnut and Stonewall shines a light on the transformative impact of the iconic Rainbow Laces campaign. Over the last five years, the proportion of sport fans who think homophobic remarks in sport are acceptable has almost halved - from 25% in 2017 to 14% in 2022. This follows five years of dedicated campaigning by Stonewall and sporting bodies such as the Premier League, FA, Premiership Rugby and leading sponsors who are part of TeamPride.
Together we have made fantastic progress, but there is still a way to go before all LGBTQ+ people are truly welcomed as equals in sport and are able to be ourselves both on and off the pitch. This year, a number of openly LGBTQ+ athletes have taken prominence and inspired the nation. Whether it’s Jake Daniels coming out or the proud lesbian and bi inclusion of the Lionesses in this year’s Euros-winning England Women’s Football team, LGBTQ+ people in sport have never been more visible.
Despite this progress we know that many LGBTQ+ people still feel unsafe and unwelcome at sporting events and fitness facilities. The research shows that sport fans are not confident that competitive sport is a welcoming environment for LGBTQ+ sport personalities. Just 4 in 10 sport fans think competitive sport is welcoming for gay and bi men (40%) or lesbian and bi women (43%). Just 3 in 10 fans (29%) think competitive sport is welcoming for trans sport personalities.
So, although it’s been heartening to see brave athletes like Jake Daniels, Zander Murray and Josh Cavallo comfortable playing as their authentic selves, our campaign to make sport everyone’s game is far from over.
Liz Ward, Director of Programmes at Stonewall, (she/her) said: “Since the beginning of the Rainbow Laces campaign, we’ve seen awareness grow and grow, with more than one million laces modelled in boots across the world’s pitches and, as a result, we’ve seen attitudes fundamentally shift – the majority of Britons are now supportive of LGBTQ+ athletes.
"So, this Rainbow Laces season, it’s vital that we all ‘Keep it Up’ and truly make sport everyone’s game.”
Rainbow Laces is proudly supported by TeamPride, a collective of world-leading brands committed to making sport everyone’s game. Supporting the campaign for a sixth year, TeamPride is Team PROUD of the progress we’ve made together.
Every participant, every athlete, and every team benefits when everyone is welcomed and supported in sport. Whether you are playing for enjoyment, trying to win, or supporting your favourite players or team, it is about cooperating.
