The Qatar World Cup has rightly focussed our attention on LGBTQ+ rights in football. But homophobia is a problem across the entire sport industry. Brands have a pivotal role to play in changing it for the better.


As the curtain closes on the World Cup it’s interesting to reflect on how the conversation around Qatar progressed. As many predicted, the focus on LGBTQ+ rights in the lead up receded as the competition got going.

That’s only natural because football is brilliant. At its best, the game transcends politics and reveals something deeper about our shared humanity. In the heat of the moment, where the game is being played is irrelevant.

But zoom out and the issue remains. Football is a homophobic business. To date only 20 male footballers have come out. Ever.

And, as far as my research shows, only 3 have come out while they are playing. The majority wait until their retirement to be open about their sexuality.

From a UK perspective, it’s staggering that, in 2022, an industry could have this kind of problem. That an entire sector could be so riddled with homophobia any active professional felt unable to be openly gay. It’s impossible to imagine saying the same about advertising, or banking, or the legal profession. Even a sector as traditional as construction has got its act together over the past decade.

That’s not to say those sectors are perfect by any means. But when your average professional football club is less tolerant than your average building site, something’s wrong.

It’s easy to point to football fans as the reason for this. Aggressive, male-dominated crowds at Premier League grounds make hostile environments for any player. A gay player need only look at the on-field abuse suffered by his black teammates to think twice about coming out.

But if football fans are the problem, why are the no gay pro tennis players?

Or rugby players?

Or cricketers?

Or golfers?

Or basketballers?

Or cyclists?

Or F1 drivers?

Or skateboarders?

Or track athletes?

I know – you can point to one or two. Jake Daniels in football. Gareth Thomas in rugby. Tom Daley. But they are the rare exceptions who prove the rule that if you’re a gay man in professional sport, you stay in the closet.

The same isn’t true of women’s sport. Martina Navratilova was openly gay 30 years ago. Megan Rapinoe is the global face of women’s football. Team GB’s Kate and Helen Richardson-Walsh became the first same-sex couple to win Olympic Gold in 2016.

It’s not the case at the amateur level of sport. At a grass-roots level gay men are much more accepted. From triathlon to table tennis, amateur clubs have developed inclusion policies intended to encourage participation. Organisations like International Gay and Lesbian Football Association or International Gay Rugby aim to create global networks for gay players.

And it’s not the same in other areas of the entertainment industry. Sir Ian McKellan, Zachary Quinto, Frank Ocean, and Lil Nas X are just some of the names that prove you don’t need to stay in the closet to be successful.

When you stop to think about it, male professional sport is one of the most homophobic industries in the world.

Governing bodies say they want inclusion and show their support with rainbow badges and pride celebrations. But there has been no material change at the professional level for decades.

Why is this? Of course there’s the traditional cultural role of sport in defining heteronormative masculinity. But that’s something you can see changing in real time: the Lionesses’ Euros win has already changed UK perspectives on football as a ‘man’s sport’.

And I know the nature of social media would bring the trolls. You only need look at the vitriol aimed at the ‘out’ AI footballer Aiko recently to see what might be in store.

But the experience of NFL player Carl Nassib, who came out in 2021, would suggest the reaction of fellow pros and the majority of fans would be a positive one.

So a key reason must be commercial. Do you get the watch deal if you’re gay? Do you get cast in the TV ad? We all know the countries and markets “these issues don’t play well in”.

You have such a small window as a pro to make the majority of your life’s earnings. Do you risk it all by coming out?

What a choice to have to make.

This is where there is a genuine role for brands to make a difference. To stand in true solidarity with the gay men playing sport around the world. So many already sponsor these players. Are they going to live up to their commitments to inclusion and provide the support needed to change sport for good, forever?

Which brand will be the first to make a public commitment to financially supporting any gay professional that comes out but worries about the implications of doing so?

The future of sport should be an equal one, and brands can lead the change.