New Stonewall Research Shows Progress on LGBTQ+ Inclusion in Sport

October 28, 2022 

From 19 -31 October, the UK’s leading lesbian, gay, bi and trans equality charity, Stonewall, is running its award-winning Rainbow Laces campaign in support of LGBTQ+ inclusion in sport. The campaign recently released research with ICM/Walnut that shows 'fantastic progress' amongst the British public since the campaign began almost 10 years ago, whilst acknowledging a challenging path ahead.  

Since 2013, over a million LGBTQ+ people and allies have “laced up” to "make sport everybody's game," raising visibility for LGBTQ+ people in sport and awareness of the challenges and experiences of players on and off the pitch. On its ninth anniversary, the new research showed that over the last five years, the proportion of sport fans who think homophobic remarks in sport are acceptable has almost halved -- from 25% in 2017 to 14% in 2022. And a number of openly LGBTQ+ athletes have taken prominence and inspired many across the nation this year.

This follows five years of dedicated campaigning by Stonewall and sporting bodies such as the Premier League, FA, Premiership Rugby and sponsors part of TeamPride - a consortium of world-leading brands committed to making sport everyone's game.

However, Stonewall also notes that "there is still a way to go before all LGBTQ+ people are truly welcomed as equals in sport and are able to be ourselves both on and off the pitch...we know that many LGBTQ+ people still feel unsafe and unwelcome at sporting events and fitness facilities." 

The data reflected that sport fans are not confident that competitive sport is a welcoming environment for LGBTQ+ sport personalities. Four in ten sport fans think competitive sport is welcoming for gay and bi men (40%) or lesbian and bi women (43%), and only 29% of fans think competitive sport is welcoming for trans sport personalities. The campaign is also calling on the global sporting community to stand up and call out the criminalisation and persecution of LGBTQ+ people in Qatar ahead of the World Cup. 

“Since the beginning of the Rainbow Laces campaign, we’ve seen awareness grow and grow, with more than one million laces modeled in boots across the world’s pitches and, as a result, we’ve seen attitudes fundamentally shift – the majority of Britons are now supportive of LGBTQ+ athletes,” said Liz Ward, Director of Programmes at Stonewall. 

“However, we cannot become complacent. This new research shows that the public recognises that there is more work to do to create a world where LGBTQ+ people are free to be themselves both on and off the pitch.” 

26 October marked Rainbow Laces Day with the campaign encouraging people to continue to lace up, speak up and keep it up. Supporters included a number of openly LGBTQ+ athletes who have taken prominence over the last year such as Jake Daniels or the Euro-winning Lionesses in their lesbian and bi inclusion. Additionally, iconic brands including Sky Sports, Adidas and the Premier League have come together this past year to renew their commitment.

"We need everyone to push for change year-round. because inclusion has no off season," states the organisation.