Manchester United and Chelsea have joined the Football v Homophobia campaign for the first time which aims to welcome more LGBT people to football and challenge homophobic behaviour.
The pair join nine other Premier League clubs, including Manchester City, who have backed it as the group seeks to secure support from 50% of clubs in the country.
Football v Homophobia co-director Megan Worthing-Davies said she felt the acquisition of big clubs can trigger those involved in the game to become more broad-minded in the area.
“We are extremely happy to see some of the biggest clubs in the country showing leadership on tackling homophobia and hope that their involvement will encourage a critical mass of clubs to get on board with the campaign,” she told BBC Sport.
Anti-homophobia group Stonewall carried out their Right Behind Gay Footballers campaign earlier this season but many clubs refused to get involved after claims it was poorly planned.
The latest move in the fight against homophobia hopes to ensure gay players feel more comfortable with coming out, with the last openly gay footballer in England being Justin Fashanu in 1990.
Sports Minister Helen Grant praised the work of the government on the issue but hopes for more teams to get involved.
She said: “All of the Premier League and Football League clubs pledged their support to the charter, so it’s great to see so many clubs following up on these commitment with visible action.
“We hope everyone working to fight discrimination in the game will get behind the campaign.”
Image courtesy of West Ham United FC via YouTube, with thanks
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