Fleetwood Town will celebrate Stonewall's Rainbow Laces campaign at tonight’s dedicated fixture against Forest Green Rovers at Highbury.
Town is proud to be supporting Stonewall's Rainbow Laces campaign to "Lace Up and Speak Up" for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, or Queer (LGBTQ+) inclusion in football.
The campaign aims to create a broader, louder, and more impactful movement for LGBTQ+ inclusion in sports, with the hope that every conversation will move a step closer to achieving the ambition of playing sports everyone’s game.
This year’s Rainbow Laces campaign will run from the 19th to the 31st of October. This includes our dedicated fixture against Forest Green and ‘Rainbow Laces Day,’ which is set to take place on Wednesday 26 October.
The campaign has been brought forward to get the ball rolling for inclusion both in our communities and globally, across all sports and physical activities prior to the World Cup in Qatar.
The campaign is not just about wearing Rainbow Laces, it is about opening conversations about sport and the wider community to further inclusivity. In addition, rainbow corner flags will be used, the team captains will wear rainbow armbands, announcements will be made and details about the campaign will be placed in the match programme.
More than a million people have laced up in support of LGBTQ+ equality in sports. But many in this community still feel unwelcome in sports, fitness, and physical activity. Because people bully, belittle, and exclude them, making them feel out of place. Sport is for all, and everyone should be welcome. Laces have brought awareness.
Now, we all need to speak up with those around us. We must ensure we are championing the cause with pride all year round. Not just when the cameras are on. Because inclusion has no off-season. Lace up, speak up, and make sport everyone’s game.