Proud Lilywhites, Tottenham’s official LGBTQI+ supporters’ group, has modified lives and the regulation since their inception a decade in the past, however have no plans to name it a day any time quickly.
Tuesday marks the organisation’s 10th anniversary and co-founder Chris Paouros acknowledged an early goal was to “put ourselves out of business” by enhancing equality in soccer and altering homophobic attitudes.
The achievements of the group embrace serving to a member search asylum within the UK and contributing in the direction of the Chelsea hire boy chant being deemed a homophobic hate crime, with this previous month stuffed with actions to celebrate their milestone.
About final evening… An honour to be @SpursStadium with members and allies to celebrate our 10 12 months anniversary — constructing this group means a lot Thank you @SpursOfficial @LedleyKing @Ben_Davies33 @EllieBrazil_ #ProudLilywhites10 pic.twitter.com/Fw3AwicYEB
— Proud Lilywhites (@SpursLGBT) February 16, 2024
Recent males’s and ladies’s matches with Wolves and Aston Villa respectively had been devoted to Proud Lilywhites’ 10th anniversary with the membership’s 62,850-seater stadium lit up in rainbow colors and once more on February 15 when a celebration occasion was held on the floor, with first-teamers Ben Davies and Ellie Brazil in attendance.
“Walking down the High Road (before Wolves), I can’t even begin to tell you how I felt,” Paouros instructed the PA information company.
“I come from Seven Sisters manner and seeing the stadium saying celebrating 10 years of Proud Lilywhites, it virtually took my breath away and I really feel emotion now speaking about it.
“We simply made up this factor 10 years in the past and thought it is a good thought!
“As a LGBTQI+ fan, you don’t always feel football is for you. And I always say that feeling when the ball is about to hit the back of the net and everyone rises in unison, you don’t get that anywhere else. For that reason I don’t want to deny that for anybody.”
Proud Lilywhites’ celebration occasion was attended by a number of key allies with Spurs’ govt director Donna-Maria Cullen, Troy Townsend of Kick It Out, Women in Football’s Jo Tongue and Olympic gold-medallist Helen Richardson-Walsh all addressing the three-figure viewers, whereas symbolically Ledley King was additionally current.
Ex-Tottenham captain King has supported the group for the reason that starting after being of their first ever picture forward of a Europa League conflict with Dnipro on February, 27 2014.
The wheels in movement for Proud Lilywhites began weeks earlier than that launch occasion on the Dnipro fixture when Paouros and 5 others held a gathering at White Hart Lane with then-supporters’ liaison officer Jonathan Waite to set out the group’s formation.
In the Bill Nicholson Suite, Proud Lilywhites declared their three key rules could be group, training and campaigning and with it the pathway to altering lives and the regulation had been set.
Later that 12 months Proud Lilywhites put up their rainbow-coloured flag at White Hart Lane for the primary time, which has been the catalyst for followers like group co-chair Lee Johnson to give soccer a second likelihood.
Paouros added: “When we first put a flag up at White Hart Lane, there was an enormous hoo-ha about it.
“Now it is a permanent fixture and people are proud of it. You can say it is just a symbol to say you are inclusive, but actually that flag has brought so many people back to the game.”
The homophobic hire boy chant – aimed toward Chelsea, its gamers and followers – had pressured Johnson away from soccer, however the Crown Prosecution Service in 2022 recognised it as a homophobic hate crime after Proud Lilywhites alongside Chelsea Pride co-chair Tracy Brown gathered proof by means of sufferer influence statements to make sure the regulation was modified.
Proud Lilywhites additionally work alongside Kick It Out to present fan training, however an actual supply of satisfaction revolves round serving to a now-committee member to be granted asylum within the UK.
“One of our members, she is a committee member now, was seeking asylum in this country for persecution for her sexual orientation,” Paouros defined.
“And as you recognize when you search asylum, you have to show it and the way on earth do you show your sexual orientation? It is unthinkable.
“However, in 2016 or 2017, we did a stall earlier than the north London derby the place we made rainbow rock sweets, talked about Proud Lilywhites. She helped and it was photographed.
“So, that evidence of helping with the stall along with a letter we wrote supporting her case meant she was granted asylum and it is one case, but I am really proud of that.”
There are numerous different examples of Proud Lilywhites’ influence with the group not too long ago singled out for reward by Angharad ‘Haz’ James upon her departure from the ladies’s crew, whereas Ashleigh Neville described them as “amazing” earlier this month.
Tomorrow’s match towards Wolves will see the Club celebrate 10 years of @SpursLGBT – our LGBTQI+ supporters’ affiliation.
Last evening, a particular celebration occasion was held at @SpursStadium, with over 100 Proud Lilywhites members and allies in attendance. #ProudLilywhites10
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) February 16, 2024
Proud Lilywhites have twice been recognised on the Football v Homophobia awards and had been the fourth LGBTQI+ soccer group to kind in England. Now they are certainly one of greater than 50 linked to the Pride in Football community, which they helped kind.
However, the teams’ work is way from over with homophobic abuse focused at Proud Lilywhites on social media earlier this month, which implies a one-time assertion no longer rings true.
“We’ve always said we want to put ourselves out of business and not be in a position where we’re doing this forever, but Donna (Cullen) said, ‘Do you really? Because look at all these people who love being part of this group’. There is something in that because it’s about how you bring people together to feel a sense of community,” Paouros conceded.
“Last 12 months we noticed a rise in homophobic chanting and abuse in skilled soccer.
“So, we want to encourage a tradition of reporting that doesn’t really feel like individuals being grassed up.
“While we are not safe on our phones, not safe on our streets and while football can sometimes send us signals that we don’t belong, the Proud Lilywhites remains a beckon for the positive change fans can make alongside committed clubs like Spurs to ensure football really is for everyone.”
Discussion about this post