Outsport

⚽🏳️‍🌈 in Rome

We are proud to share what we organised in Rome during the Football vs Homophobia month of action. 40 young players took part in a sport-based educational activity hosted at the historic .nantes XV Aprile pitch, organised by Liberi Nantes, .roma and .sanlorenzo in collaboration with the Outsport Office of .

Using activities from the Outsport Coach Manual and the Education Through Sport methodology, the workshop combined empathy-based role play and discussion to help participants recognise discrimination in sport.

One of the most powerful moments came from a conversation about the use of the word “fa…ot” in the locker room, starting from a real situation. Some players openly reflected on their experiences and acknowledged that they had used offensive language in the past, recognising it as a mistake.

The event involved the Liberi Nantes U19 team and U15 players from Atletico San Lorenzo, supported by facilitators from Lupi Roma and the Outsport Office of AiCS.

The activity ended with a Football vs Homophobia match, and the engagement was so strong that five players asked to repeat the experience.

Another reminder that education through sport can open real conversations and help build more respectful football environments. 🌈⚽

Note: Due to privacy and safeguarding considerations, as most participants were minors and refugees, only a limited selection of photos from the activity can be shared.

A few glimpses from last night’s event at the Pride House during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics 🏳️‍🌈✨

As Outsport Office, it was a pleasure to be present at .milano2026

It was inspiring to reconnect with people and organizations we’ve been collaborating with for years — — and to deepen connections with many others.

A heartfelt thank you to , , and ALL others for organizing this powerful space of visibility, dialogue and connection.

Here’s to the conclusion of the Winter Games and looking ahead to the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympics — and to the additional Pride House events still to come!

Best of luck to Pride House 2028 in Los Angeles
— a crucial challenge lies ahead: continuing to make sport a space of resistance, dignity and inclusion in the United States.

Through our research, training and awareness-raising activities, we will always stand alongside sport for all and proudly support the Pride House initiatives.

🏳️‍🌈🏆🏳️‍⚧️February 19 – International Day Against LGBTI-phobia in Sport
Established in 2010 by the Justin Campaign, this day honours Justin Fashanu, the first professional footballer in the UK to come out as gay. His story reminds us that sport can be a space of freedom — but also of exclusion.

From grassroots initiatives to major clubs like FC Barcelona, the message is clear: discrimination has no place on the pitch, in the locker room, or in the stands.

One of the most recognisable actions is the Wear It Black & Pink campaign promoted by Football v Homophobia — a simple yet powerful gesture showing that discrimination has no place on the pitch, in the locker room, or in the stands

🖤💗 Wear It Black & Pink
📣 Speak up
🤝 Take responsibility

At the Outsport Office, we believe inclusion is not symbolic — it is structural. It requires training, concrete tools, clear policies and accountability.

We keep running. Another lap, another year. Stronger.

🧩If you are a club, federation or sport organisation willing to strengthen your inclusion work, we are ready to collaborate.

🏳️‍🌈🏆🏳️‍⚧️February 19 – International Day Against LGBTI-phobia in Sport
Established in 2010 by the Justin Campaign, this day honours Justin Fashanu, the first professional footballer in the UK to come out as gay. His story reminds us that sport can be a space of freedom — but also of exclusion.

From grassroots initiatives to major clubs like FC Barcelona, the message is clear: discrimination has no place on the pitch, in the locker room, or in the stands.

One of the most recognisable actions is the Wear It Black & Pink campaign promoted by Football v Homophobia — a simple yet powerful gesture showing that discrimination has no place on the pitch, in the locker room, or in the stands

🖤💗 Wear It Black & Pink
📣 Speak up
🤝 Take responsibility

At the Outsport Office, we believe inclusion is not symbolic — it is structural. It requires training, concrete tools, clear policies and accountability.

🏃‍♀️We keep running. Another lap, another year. Stronger.

🧩If you are a club, federation or sport organisation willing to strengthen your inclusion work, check out our tools on our-sport.eu.
🎯We are ready to collaborate.

⚽🏳️‍🌈 kicks off in Rome with special activities against homophobia and racism.
🇮🇹In comments

As homophobia in football becomes increasingly visible — as shown by the recent case involving referee — the main response is to keep raising awareness and investing in education. 📣✊

👉On Wednesday 18 February, on the occasion of Football Month Vs Homophobia (FVH), .nantes, .roma, and .sanlorenzo are organising a special sport-based educational event against racism and homophobia, inspired by the Outsport Coach Manual, in collaboration with the Outsport Office of AiCS.

The activity will be hosted at the historic XV Aprile pitch of Liberi Nantes — the refugee team that has been active in social sport for almost 20 years. 🌍🤝

Around 40 young players from the different clubs will take part, supported by three facilitators, engaging in empathy-based role-play activities focused on recognising discrimination, followed by a match dedicated to FVH. 🧠⚽

The international campaign, launched in 2010, commemorates footballer Justin Fashanu, the first professional player in the English Premier League to come out publicly in the 1990s. 🏳️‍🌈
The Outsport methodology, created through an AiCS initiative, is inspired by Human Rights Education promoted by the Council of Europe.

It serves as a practical tool to promote diversity and activate inclusive group dynamics in sport, schools, workplaces, and wider society. 🌈📚

We invite citizens, educators, coaches, and anyone involved in football or schools to join us and attend the event.

📍 Via Ma**ca 80, Rome
🕓 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM
📩 [email protected]

❗️As reported by SimiliQueer, German referee Pascal Kaiser was violently assaulted in a homophobic attack following his public marriage proposal during a football match in Cologne. After the proposal went viral, he was targeted by homophobic threats and doxxing on social media, before being attacked at his home. A police investigation is ongoing.

👉🏽This case is not an isolated incident. It exposes, once again, the structural failure of sport institutions to protect LGBTQIA+ people when visibility is met with hate, as also demonstrated by the homophobic death threats and sustained online abuse received by Josh Cavallo after coming out publicly as a gay footballer.

📣As Outsport, we call on football institutions at national and EU level to take a clear, public stand against homotransphobia in sport and to express their solidarity with Pascal Kaiser. Silence and symbolic gestures are no longer acceptable.

📣We urge football federations, leagues, and clubs to fully implement existing policies and tools to prevent hate and discrimination, starting from grassroots and youth football. LGBTQIA+ inclusion must become an organic and mandatory part of players’ education, coaches’ professional development, referees’ training, and fans’ engagement.

📣We call on EU institutions to strengthen the implementation of the EU LGBTIQ+ Strategy in the field of sport, making full use of the 2024–2027 European Work Plan for Sport, which explicitly addresses hate speech. Commitments on paper must translate into concrete protection, prevention, and accountability mechanisms.

🎯Pascal Kaiser’s assault is a stark reminder that, still today in Europe, LGBTQIA+ people continue to pay a price for being visible. It also reflects the alarming rise of hate and intolerance across recent years. Taking action is not optional: it is about protecting core EU values such as freedom of expression and the right to inclusion without discrimination.

🏳️‍🌈 A Safe Space in Sport for Very Unsafe Times — Pride House at Milano-Cortina 2026 🏔️
At the Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games Milano-Cortina 2026 there will be a Pride House — a dedicated space at the intersection of sport, LGBTQIA+ rights, culture, and community. From 6 to 22 February, the MEET Digital Culture Center in Milan’s Porta Venezia district will be more than a fan hub: it will be a beacon of visibility, connection, and empowerment.
At a moment when q***r and trans rights are increasingly under attack in most parts of the world, this initiative stands as a powerful affirmation that sport can — AND MUST! — be a place of safety, belonging, and pride.
There is also historic news on the field of play. These Winter Games will feature a record number of openly LGBTQ+ athletes — at least 44 competitors, the highest total ever at a Winter Olympics, spanning disciplines from figure skating and hockey to skiing and beyond.
This unprecedented visibility does more than celebrate individual courage. It challenges decades of silence around q***r identities in sport, proving that authenticity and elite performance not only coexist — they strengthen one another.
Throughout the Olympic fortnight, Pride House will host:
🎤 Talks and panels on inclusion, identity, sport, and human rights
🎬 Film screenings and cultural programming
🎭 Performances amplifying q***r voices and stories
⛷️ Live streams of competitions in a safe, affirming community space
Supported by local and international partners — including LGBTQIA+ organisations and cultural institutions — Pride House is part of the official Milano-Cortina Cultural Olympiad.
This initiative is not only about visibility. It is about building connections, sharing lived experiences, and strengthening a global movement for inclusion in sport and beyond. The message is clear: you are not alone — and sport should be a safe place where everyone belongs.

❗️When Trump mocks trans athletes, as he recently did in front of an assembly of Republican Congress members, he is not being provocative or funny.

👉He is punching down.

🎯It is no different from mocking disabled people or from the racist caricatures of the past — such as painting one’s face to ridicule Black people. History is very clear about how we judge that kind of behaviour.

✍️Over the last year, Donald Trump has used executive orders, administrative actions, and political messaging to systematically roll back the rights of trans people.

🏳️‍⚧️From undermining protections in healthcare, education, and employment to promoting exclusionary policies that legitimised bans on trans athletes in sport, his agenda has consistently targeted a community already under attack.

👉These actions didn’t “protect fairness” — they fuelled stigma, encouraged discrimination, and gave political cover to those who want trans people erased from public life.

📣Sport should be a space of inclusion, dignity, and respect. Trans athletes are athletes: they train, compete, follow rules, and deserve to be treated as human beings — not as props in a culture war.

👉At Outsport in , we stand firmly against policies and rhetoric that dehumanise trans people. Human rights are not a joke, and equality is not optional.

✨ A powerful moment of visibility for trans men in sports.

Former Japanese footballer Marumi Yamazaki has come out as a trans man, sharing that he retired from professional soccer in order to pursue gender affirmation and live authentically. In a heartfelt announcement, he shared that he has legally changed his gender and is now happily married.

This coming-out is a very positive and inspiring moment — not only for trans people in sport and beyond, but for anyone who has ever struggled to live their truth. Yamazaki’s courage in sharing his journey publicly can give hope to many who are still finding their voice.

At the same time, we wish for a world where no one has to step away from the sport they love in order to affirm who they are. True inclusion means that trans athletes should be able to continue their careers without having to choose between success in sport and living as their true selves.

The Outsport Office at believes in a future where every person — in football, in sport, and in life — can be both authentic and fulfilled

✨ Happy New Year from the Outsport team!

As we head into 2026, we’re savvy about the moment we’re in. The past year has seen unprecedented attacks on LGBTIQA+ people, and especially on trans rights — in society and *through* sport. At the same time, growing visibility in women’s sport shows what progress can look like, while reminding us that real equity is still far from achieved.

🌍 With major international mega-sporting events ahead, 2026 will put sport, human rights, access to participation, and equality firmly in the global spotlight.

🌈🏳️‍⚧️ We’re ready to meet the challenges ahead — learning, organising, and working together to make sport a space of dignity, safety, and inclusion for all.

#2026

📣May these days be a time to rest, reconnect, and keep moving — on the pitch and beyond — always being proud of who you are💪🏽🌈🏳️‍⚧️

by the Outsport Office at