February marked Football v Homophobia (FvH) Month, with 256 teams and supporter groups across Britain standing together to say: football is for everyone. Clapton Community FC was proud to be among them.
At our two designated Women’s and Men’s First Team matches, we raised nearly £800 for Lesbians and Gays Support the Migrants (LGSM) and Come As You Are (CAYA) Newham—two organisations dedicated to supporting LGBTQ+ and migrant communities.
This total was boosted by the sale of dozens of CCFC Pride badges, as well as LGSM’s merchandise stall at our women’s match. CAYA will also be joining us at a future game to continue building our connection.
In the clubhouse, we stocked Queer Brewing beers, with 10% of sales donated to LGBTQ+ charities.
Across the club, every team played a designated FvH fixture, wearing rainbow armbands and laces in a powerful show of solidarity. Our youth training sessions also embraced the theme, with kids learning rainbow flicks and discussing the importance of inclusivity in football.
Strengthening our ties, three players from our women’s and non-binary teams attended CAYA’s recent Queer Youth Rising event, and CCFC committee members attended FvH events online and in person.
But fighting homophobia isn’t just about one month—it’s about all of us, all year round. Whether you’re a player, volunteer, or fan, everyone has a role in calling out and reporting discrimination, making our club a welcoming space for everyone.
As Men’s First Team defender Charlie Fagan highlighted:
“Across hundreds of teammates, I have never shared a changing room with anyone openly LGBTQ+. Statistically, that’s almost impossible. One in ten 16–24-year-olds identifies as lesbian, gay, or bisexual, so if football were truly representative, I would have had loads of LGBTQ+ teammates. The fact I haven’t means they either saw football as unsafe and didn’t play, or they were there but didn’t feel able to be open. Either way, football failed them.”
February showed that CCFC is a club for all, but it remains a frightening time for our queer players, fans and comrades. Our commitment to equality and liberation doesn’t end with February—it’s forever.
Clapton CFC – Football For All.
Women’s First Team v Ashford United (Sun Feb 9)
Men’s Over 35s vs Camden & Islington United Vets (Sun Feb 9)
Men’s First Team – Clapton v Meridian VP (Sat Feb 15)
Men’s Devs – Clapton v FC Nyva (Sun Feb 23)
Women/NB Devs – Clapton v Ladies EEA (Sat Feb 22)
Women’s Reserves – Clapton v Edgware & Kingsbury (Sun Feb 23)
Open Access training session (Sat Feb 22)
