Clapton CFC stands with our trans siblings during Football v Transphobia week of action and every week.
There are too many barriers to football – just ask some of the Lost Generation at Open Access training, or players who could have gone further if they’d been ‘allowed’ to play sooner.
We do not want anyone to face barriers to playing football.
Currently, to play in any FA affiliated competitions, trans players have to go through an intrusive process of questioning and proof including ludicrous hormone requirements that are harsher than the ones set out by the Olympic Committee, and proof of medical treatment.
A lot of trans players feel unwelcome or unaccepted in football, and many have given up on playing the sport that they love due to discrimination and the hostile climate fostered by the policies set out by the FA.
Nobody should have to prove their existence, least of all to a governing body that seeks to exclude them or prevent them from playing football in their adequate gender category.
CCFC made the decision to register the Women’s Development Team in unaffiliated competitions so as to ensure that our trans siblings can play without having to be subjected to this intrusive procedure.
We will keep the Development Team in an unaffiliated league until the FA policy is abolished and trans players can freely play football.
It is crucial to put inclusivity at the forefront of our club and to always reject the easy but no less false opposition between inclusivity and competitiveness. Inclusivity only makes a team stronger.
Again, we stand with our trans siblings and call on the FA to do better.
The FA must:
– abolish their intrusive policies requiring trans players to submit medical tests;
– move towards a self-identification model (at the very least for amateur football);
– cease to promote “mixed leagues” as a viable alternative for trans players;
– do more to tackle all forms of discrimination in the game.
Keep an eye out for news on inclusive tournaments we’ll be hosting soon with our friends.