LGBTQ+ football charity sees 46% rise in homophobia reports
A rainbow shirt for Football v Homophobia (Getty Images)
LGBTQ+ football charity Kick It Out has shared that it received 203 reports of homophobia in the sport during 2025/26, which marks a 43 percent rise from the previous season.
The troubling statistics have prompted Football v Homophobia, a campaign group that was set up to fight discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in football, to issue an urgent call for action.
FvH director Lou Englefield said: “We echo Kick It Out’s concern that divisive political rhetoric in Britain is fuelling discrimination. To combat this, we call on senior leaders in football and all those with influence to take more meaningful steps in support of education, awareness and allyship.”
She also added that role models in the sport hold the power to help make spaces welcoming for everyone.
“LGBTQ+ people feel safer to be themselves when they see action being taken that is inclusive and welcoming, particularly from those they look up to in the sport they love,” Engliefield said.
“With more than 1,000 discrimination incidents recorded by Kick It Out last season, football cannot and must not be complacent.”
According to Kick It Out, the number of reports of homophobia in football during the 2025/26 season amounted to the total from the last four seasons combined.
The charity counts homophobia as everything from individual prejudice against certain players to homophobic and transphobic mass chanting from fans.
Alarmingly, the stats for youth football were even higher this season, and saw a 90 percent increase in reported incidents.
The new data can be linked to previous reports from the Home Office that detailed a sharp rise in hate crime incidents within the Premier League, with incidents occurring at 15 percent of all Premier League games.
There was also a 73 percent rise in online hate crime and abuse linked to football.
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