The international “Football Fans against Homophobia” campaign aims to take a clear stand against homophobia in football!
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ALT Image shows purple background with FIFA: ACT NOW TO STOP ABUSES AT WORLD CUP in white text. SRA logo in white.
ALT The photo shows the World Cup trophy and a football ball in a stadium full of lights. Text reads: "Qatar World Cup 2022: an open letter to FIFA president Gianni Infantino". The logos of ILGA World and ILGA Asia sit at the bottom right of the image
ALT Picture of FIFA staff with a progress pride flag.
ALT Screenshot of a fifa article. Text reads: “Just as importantly, the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ will be a celebration of unity and diversity – a joining of people from all walks of life – regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, age, disability, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression – everybody will be welcome.”
ALT Image shows rainbow flag being waved by silhouetted individuals. Text shows SRA, FSE, and ILGA World logos, and “The recent statement from Qatar that fans choosing to celebrate diversity and acceptance at the 2022 Men's World Cup may be targeted and penalized by Qatari officials – under a thin guise of ‘protection’ – is deeply concerning. Often so-called 'protections' are in fact smokescreens to cover up human rights violations. FIFA and Qatar must address these concerns immediately, and show the world there is a chance of carrying out a rights-respecting and safe tournament for LGBTIQ fans.”
ALT LGBT+ FANS PRESS STATEMENT ON QATAR 2022 Over the past 18 months, we tried to engage with FIFA and the Qatar Supreme Committee (“SC”) ahead of the World Cup in November and December 2022. Our aims were simple: • To gain concrete assurances and examples of how LGBT+ fans, players, journalists and staff would be protected in a country that criminalises their existence. • To raise concerns regarding human rights in Qatar. • To shine a light on the plight of LGBT+ Qataris and those living in Qatar. A founding principle of our group is that we should be able to follow our team as our authentic selves wherever we play in the world without fear for our safety and with freedom from persecution. The arguments about whether Qatar should be hosting a World Cup have been well documented. In our conversations with both FIFA and the SC, there has been little effort from organisers to proactively engage around the concerns fans and rights groups have raised.
ALT We cannot, in good faith, tell our members, LGBT+ people or allies that this is a World Cup for all. We have seen no details about how our trans+ members will be treated with respect through security checks. We have heard no specifics on guarantees that LGBT+ people (fans or residents) will not be arrested for their existence. We have witnessed a complete disregard for fans throughout this broken process – it is clear that fans’ voices, especially from minority groups, are not taken seriously by FIFA and the SC. We are the backbone of the game – listen to us, especially when we are trying to make football a better environment for all. Our questions and concerns are separate to the moral debate on whether LGBT+ fans should attend, and our work will continue after this statement, after this World Cup. We will be heard, we will be seen, we will not be going anywhere. This tournament needs to be safe for travelling fans who decide to go but must also create a positive legacy
