Posted on 6th October 2026
LGBTQ+ groups show they are “Stronger Together”
The Forum: Stronger Together brought together fans from across the country for the first national gathering of LGBTQ+ supporter groups in the UK since 2019.
Nottingham Forest’s City Ground hosted a day of discussion, collaboration and networking on Saturday 3rd October at an event supported by the FSA – as part of our Fans for Diversity campaign which is run with Kick It Out – and Pride in Football.
Dozens of FSA member fan groups from across the game joined forces to celebrate the positive impact of supporter activity and look ahead to some of the challenges facing the game.
After grabbing some pitchside pics attendees settled down to listen to the day’s keynote speaker Liz Ward for a session covering an array of themes.
The day would not have happened without the hard work of FSA National Council member James Laley and he said the event had been a big success.
“I am still smiling after the event,” James said. “We had around 70 people in the room, with 25 or 26 LGBTQ+ supporters’ groups represented. The energy was high, the engagement was great, and there has been some wonderful feedback from attendees, guests and speakers.”
“It has been seven years since the last in-person meet-up of LGBTQ+ supporters’ groups and I am very confident that, with the formation of the FSA LGBTQ+ Hub, we won’t be waiting seven years until the next.”
- Both James and the Fans for Diversity campaign would love to hear from anyone who is interested in our LGBTQ+ work – email [email protected]
Keynote speaker Liz Ward looked back on her own personal experiences of falling in love with the game, and some of the very early examples of discrimination she faced, and gave a potted history of some famous campaigns such as Rainbow Laces.
Liz Ward addresses the room © FSA
The room discussed the lens through which they see themselves and football before looking at the challenges faced in the modern landscape. Kick It Out’s stats show a rise in reported homophobia and Liz explained how she tried to engage young players in positive campaign messages.
There was also discussion centred around social media discrimination – what form it takes, how safer online spaces can be created and how discriminatory language can be challenged. Some groups have taken to repurposing hate speech and using it to show exactly why campaigns and support are needed.
Kick It Out
Following Liz’s presentation we heard from Lou Englefield (Football v Homophobia) and Cairo Duncan (Kick it Out) who told us more about their work with a particular eye on reporting abuse at games.
Kick It Out’s Report It app is a valuable tool in that fight but it’s only as good as the information it receives, so we looked at best practice submissions.
These included specific information on exactly what words were said, times, descriptions of those who commit offences alongside seat numbers or a specific area in a ground where offenders sit or stand. Real time reporting is more likely to catch offenders than post-match action (although the latter is still valuable if the former isn’t possible).
We also looked at the importance of the Fan Education Programme at Kick It Out. This is rehabilitative work, led by Alan Bush, which uses restorative justice to challenge offenders behaviour and secure long-term change.
Some behaviours are so bad and ingrained that there is no alternative to prosecution and bans but the programme’s objective is to educate, rehabilitate and reintegrate.
And that wasn’t all…
We also enjoyed an excellent stadium tour and distributed hard copies of Fans for Diversity and Pride in Football’s excellent LQBTQ+ Supporter Group Toolkit which sits in a new section on the FSA website: the LGBTQ+ Hub.
Later in the day photographer Laura Gates looked at how creativity can inspire fan activism, while attendees also asked how they continue to grow their groups, before heading off to a nearby social and chance to take in Croatia v England.
The day came to a close with Proud Forest founder Martin Hyland, who led an interactive session on how attendees can continue growing and strengthening their groups.
The FSA would like to thank all supporters who attended representing their groups as well as Pride in Football, Kick It Out, the EFL, Nottingham Forest and the National Football Museum. Richard Young from QPR Rainbow Rangers also deserves huge credit for his design contribution to the event.
Gallery
Check out all the day’s pics via the FSA’s Instagram (all images © ReissSinghSTUDIOS).
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