Club supports Football vs Homophobia Month of Action

Tottenham Hotspur is proudly supporting Football v Homophobia (FvH) Month of Action, a campaign that aims to tackle homophobic discrimination in football, at Wednesday’s home match against Southampton.

FvH was launched in 2010 to bring fans, players, communities, grassroots teams, professional clubs, and football authorities together to promote a safe and inclusive football environment for everyone regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

The Month of Action calls on football to take visible steps to tackle homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia in the game.

In our continued support of FvH, we are promoting the campaign across our website, social media channels, LED signage and big screens around the Southampton match. Our N17 Live matchday show will also feature content dedicated to FvH and members of the Proud Lilywhites will be appearing on our Twitch channel before the game.

In 2020, the Club was honoured with the Professional Game Award at the first ever Football v Homophobia Awards. The Club was recognised for showing dedication to improving the landscape of football for LGBTQ+ people and who have worked in numerous ways to create better inclusion and participation at all levels of football. This year, the Club has been nominated again in the Professional Club category, with the winner due to be announced later this month.

The Club was one of the first to establish a LGBTQ+ Supporters’ Association, with the Proud Lilywhites launched in February 2014.

Since then, Proud Lilywhites has continued to work closely with the Club to help combat issues relating to homophobia within the game and create a safe and inclusive environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender fans.

The group regularly runs training sessions and educational workshops for Club staff and matchday stewards, with the Proud Lilywhites signature flag on display at all home matches.
Proud Lilywhites' membership has grown to over 700 and in 2018, the group was awarded the Fans for Diversity Award by the Football Supporters’ Federation.

As a statement of support for the LGBTQ+ community, in 2020 the Club launched a Proud Lilywhites merchandise range, dedicated to celebrating our LGBTQ+ fans and allies. The rainbow colours and pride flag feature on a range of different products including accessories, homeware, stationery, and clothing which are all available to purchase online and at The Tottenham Experience.

Furthermore, for the past three years, the Club has illuminated its iconic stadium in rainbow colours to celebrate Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces campaign.

Through the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, the Club also runs a number of projects within the community aimed at promoting inclusion for all, including educational workshops for local school children.

Chris Paouros, Co-Chair of Proud Lilywhites said: “Football v Homophobia (FvH) is an important campaign challenging discrimination based on sexual orientation gender identity and expression. When we first started the Proud Lilywhites in February 2014, FvH were one of the first organisations we contacted because we knew we weren’t in this alone and working alongside them would be crucial. We’re incredibly proud that both the Proud Lilywhites and the Club have been shortlisted for #FvH2022 awards in the supporter group and professional game groups, respectively. It’s testament to all the work we do together to drive LGBTQ+ inclusion and combat discrimination.”

For more information about FvH, visit www.footballvhomophobia.com.