Stonewall Football Club, London

This article was generously provided to ClubFootball by the British Council, which operates in China as the Cultural and Education Section of the British Embassy.

"Man On!" Dave shouts from the sidelines. Too late to save his player from the kind of hard tackle that brings tears to your eyes. The player gets up and shrugs it off though - it's a man's game after all.
 
Fast cars, drink, women… and football. In Britain, it's still seen by most as a man's game.
 
But you might think the game would be seen differently by men who are not heterosexual. Softer, less physical perhaps. So how is the game different for a gay player? How does football culture differ for him? Are there different rituals, attitudes and behaviour? Is it still a "man's game?"
 
Dave Williams is a key figure at Stonewall FC, the most successful gay team in Britain, and perhaps the World. He tells us what it's like being the gay man in the man's game.
 
"When Stonewall FC started back in 1991 it was all about providing footballers, who happened to be gay, the chance to play competitive and social football with like minded people," Dave told us. "The idea was to give gay men the opportunity to enjoy the national game, whilst at the same time giving everyone a chance, irrespective of level of skill or experience."
 
An advert was put in a gay publication and the response was overwhelming, Britain's first gay football team was founded. They immediately entered a London Sunday League and have competed regularly since.
 
"At first London's gay community weren't so enthusiastic. Their reaction was 'football - but we're gay!' but that attitude didn't bother us." Many were guilty of believing that you had to be heterosexual to play such a physical sport like football. The gay press certainly thought football was 'macho'.
 
The experience of Stonewall has clearly proven this to be nonsense. As Dave reveals "our teams have all the usual suspects you expect to see in any team - the hard players, the creative ones, the speed merchants. We have some tough games, enjoy the football and then enjoy the social life afterwards. They're a good bunch of lads."
 
Stonewall FC's success has snowballed, and this is now celebrated by the gay and straight communities alike.
 
Dave, self admittedly a little past his best playing days, and serving now as the Club's Secretary, gave the example of the club competing in the 2000 International Gay & Lesbian FA (IGFLA) World Championships in Cologne. "We took over 80 people and three teams and all enjoyed a fantastic experience. It was a great chance to both play football and enjoy socialising with friends, new and old."
 
More recently, in 2001, Stonewall won the International Gay and Lesbian Football Association World Cup, beating Cologne of Germany in the final. "This was a very competitive match and it's great to see some history building up at international level, the next Gay World Cup should feature teams from Brazil and Argentina too."
 
Clearly with this kind of healthy competition Dave points out that some lasting rivalries are developing, "well there is a little bit of needle between us and some of the other clubs, but that's good for the game."
 
Stonewall's success in the Gay World Cup was widely reported and the side have been celebrated in the British press as 'Britain's only successful footballing side since Bobby Moores' team won (the World Cup) in 1966.'
 
Dave's main concern for Stonewall now is just how big the club will become, "We've already grown to four full teams, we have over 120 players, and we now are affiliated with a gay women's team," he says.
 
The attitudes and behaviour of the players at Stonewall FC are basically no different from any other football team, gay or straight. What simply marks Stonewall out is their success.
 
Look out Man Utd!

Jon Wilkinson, January 2002