Football v Homophobia: Month of action tackling 'disgusting' abuse
The campaign urges football authorities to tackle rising anti-LGBTQ+ abuse
Last updated 5th Feb 2026
The Football v Homophobia (FvH) Month of Action enters its 17th year as concerns grow over increasing homophobia and transphobia within the sport.
Recent data from the Home Office and FA highlight a rise in such incidents during Premier League, EFL, and grassroots matches.
Fan groups from Chelsea and Leeds United have expressed their concerns over these increasing instances of abuse, urging both football authorities and social media platforms to take decisive action.
'Everyone involved in football must be on guard'
Lou Englefield, FvH campaign director, stressed the importance of vigilance and leadership, stating: "Everyone involved in football must be on guard and recognise how this is impacting the game, while those in positions of responsibility should step up and take a visible and practical stand against it."
FvH encourages clubs, teams, leagues, and fan groups globally to demonstrate their commitment to fighting anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination this February.
The campaign has already registered over 150 participants, including more than 30 Premier League and EFL clubs and community trusts. These leagues will also observe LGBT+ History Month with related activities throughout the month.
The FvH Awards will be held in London on 6th February, acknowledging achievements in LGBTQ+ inclusion across 11 categories. The event is supported by the Premier League, EFL, Sky Sports, and other organizations like Kick It Out.
In a recent FvH Podcast episode, leaders from Chelsea Pride and Marching Out Together fan groups discussed the worrying trends of abuse they have encountered, including a distressing incident involving Marching Out Together's Andrew Tilly at a Premier League game.
FvH calls for increased transparency in reporting discrimination incidents, as most leagues and clubs do not publicize the statistics they collect, leading to decreased confidence in the reporting process.
A past survey indicated that 74% of LGBTQ+ football fans had experienced or heard abuse, yet only a quarter reported these incidents to clubs.
February will feature further initiatives, including Wear It Black and Pink Day on 19th February, which marks Justin Fashanu's birthday and the International Day Against LGBTQ+ Phobia in Sport.
'The message is more important than ever'
Jon Holmes, who works with Football v Homophobia and spoke to Hits Radio Pride, highlighted the situation: “Sadly, we're seeing a rise in homophobia and transphobia at different levels of football at the moment. At the grassroots level, the FA has just recently released its annual review for disciplinary and it shows an increase in the number of homophobia offences at that level of the game.
"When it comes to higher up the football pyramid, we're about to see activations from the Premier League and from the EFL in February. They will be pride themed, more celebratory, but we think it's really important at this time to also amplify this anti-discrimination message.”
“I think that's why the Football v Homophobia message is more important than ever. The awards celebrate achievements whether that's fan groups, professional clubs, or the grassroots game. We also have an international award, which is sponsored by Fare, showing the global flavour of this.”
Holmes also discussed the importance of transparency from clubs and leagues across the spectrum of the sport.
He said: “There's different ways of looking at it. It's encouraging that more people are reporting and so there's a slight increase in the number of reports that are coming through. But as we see in many walks of life, anti-LGBTQ abuse tends to go unreported and often the numbers are more like the tip of the iceberg.
“Whether incidents happen in stadiums on match day, outside the stadium, or on social media, it's really important that people do report these incidents. Unless we take action, discrimination of all types, sadly, will continue to increase.”
Holmes concluded on the significance of the campaign, talking about Wear It Black And Pink Day: “The 19th of February was the original day of Football v. Homophobia when the campaign started back in the late 2000s.
"This is the 17th annual activation of the campaign in February and we want to use the 19th to raise awareness and call it Wear It Black and Pink Day, chosen because it's Justin Fashanu's birthday and the International Day Against LGBTQ Phobia in Sport.”
You can read the FA's 2024-25 season Annual Grassroots Discipline Review here.