Hamlet boosting battle to beat homophobia

Ryman Premier Dulwich Hamlet are stepping up their support for the international campaign to end homophobia in football by taking on the gay community's world champions, Stonewall FC.

Hamlet are playing the current world champions on Wednesday night at Champion Hill in a friendly organised by the South London club and backed by the Dulwich Hamlet Supporters’ Trust (DHST) whose members have been leading efforts to support the charity's Football Association-backed anti-homophobia initiatives for the last two years.

Stonewall are the biggest charity in Europe campaigning for lesbian, gay and bisexual equality and their team continues to break down barriers by competing in Division One of the Middlesex County League.

Admission to Wednesday night's 7.30pm kick off is £3 for adults and £1 for concessions with the gate money and the proceeds from a specially produced programme all going to Stonewall's chosen charity, the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

The DHST and Hamlet can be justifiably proud of their efforts this season in leading the battle against discrimination. Back in September, the club became the first in Non-League to announce that they were taking part in Stonewall's 'Rainbow Laces' campaign by lacing up their boots with rainbow-coloured laces.

Along with clubs from the Premier League down, Gavin Rose's side subsequently donned the special laces for their FA Cup clash with Worthing. On Non-League Day 2014, Hamlet were also one of only four clubs chosen by anti-racism group Kick It Out to represent them as an ambassador club.

In January the club's supporters group then unveiled a new anti-discrimination banner at Champion Hill to reinforce their commitment to challenging prejudice after applying for a grant to FARE, the European-wide anti-discrimination network.

The raising of the banner also marked the start of a series of activities to champion the inclusion of LGBT people through football. The next event will see Hamlet's home league match against the Metropolitan Police on Saturday February 21 feature a free ticket initiative for LGBT fans.

Dulwich Hamlet committee member Mishi Morath said: "Other football clubs say they're against things, but in many cases it's just lip service. We're not just saying 'We're against homophobia,' we're trying to welcome gay fans to Dulwich.

"That sums up the ethos of the club, we try to go that bit further. We've got a mixture of everyone. The atmosphere is buzzing at games. More and more we have become the talk of Non-League football. And reaching out to what people perceive as the non-footballing community can only strengthen us all as a club."

Duncan Hart, head of communications at the DHST, is thrilled that the club is supporting both events which are being held as part of the LGBT and Football v Homophobia Month of Action in February to celebrate the contributions of the LGBT community to football.

Hart said: "We are delighted that the club continues to offer these great introductory deals to all of our community so that they can experience and enjoy the fantastic welcome and atmosphere at Champion Hill, as well as watch the the brilliant football being produced on the pitch. We are really looking forward to continuing this good work across the whole club."

Stonewall FC's manager Eric Najib added: "As a club we are proud, honoured and pleased to take part in this game at Champion Hill. We really applaud everything Dulwich Hamlet are doing in terms of this match, and the ticket promotion for the Metropolitan Police game."

He added: "It will will a great experience to play this friendly match, and we're all looking forward to it."

Stonewall and the Gay Football Supporters' Network, the national membership organisation of LGBT football fans, say that despite raising awareness of the issue of homophobia in the game, there are still no openly gay or bi professional players in British football and that homophobia on the terraces is still rife.

Follow us: @rymanleaguenews on Twitter | Ryman League group on Facebook