Rainbow Laces Campaign: Football is Everyone's Game

As part of our ongoing commitment to making our communities and football welcome for all, Cardiff City FC Foundation has, once again, been showing our support for Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces campaign.

We’ve been working with young people on our programmes to raise awareness and educate them on how they can make a difference and support members of the LGBTQ+ community in sports participation, education, and day-to-day life.

Young people on both our Future Pathways post-16 education and Inspires programmes worked with our tutors and mentors to improve their knowledge on the topic and pledge their support to the campaign in a number of different ways.

Alex Carvalho, a student on Future Pathways, said:

“The workshops we took part in really opened my eyes. People should always feel safe or welcome when attending or watching sport, we now know we can change that for the better.”

43% of LGBTQ+ people think public sporting events aren’t a welcome space for them (YouGov for Stonewall, 2017), we’re working with Cardiff City Football Club to change that.

We have also been working with Cardiff City Football Club and members of the local LGBTQ+ community to develop ways to welcome new fans to the Cardiff City family and raise awareness of the recently formed Proud Bluebirds LGBTQ+ Supporters Group.

This is just the first of a number of steps as we look to continue to support and provide opportunities for under-represented communities across Cardiff and South Wales.

The Foundation’s Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Lead, Chris Foot, said:

“It’s so important that we work with our communities to make everyone feel welcome and comfortable. We’re proud to use the power of Cardiff City FC to make change and strive towards a stronger, more inclusive future.”

Take a look at our ED&I plan by clicking here.