LGBTQ football club rebrands to be more inclusive

A football club in East Sussex open to women, non-binary and transgender people are aiming to be even more inclusive.

Players at grassroots club Brighton Seagals FC are able to be as competitive or non-competitive as they wish.

While the club play in the competitive Sussex County Women & Girls Football League, it has rebranded its recreational section to 'Seapals' to be more all-encompassing.

The club said it had evolved to better serve and represent its membership.

Mya Allen, a physical education teacher who has rediscovered football after playing as a child, said she was proud to wear the club badge.

"The team is always doing something to be inclusive, like we've rebranded Seagals to Seapals to be more inclusive of non-binary and transgender people," she said.

"That's what the badge means to me, it's just always changing, but it's always the same love and respect that we have for everyone else."

Brighton Seagals FC was founded in 2019 with just enough players to get a team together, and had find coaches and facilities.

It now has 140 players across the competitive league and social football, with every aspect run by volunteers.

Chairperson Justine Thomson said the club followed the moto "more than football".

"And actually, there is so much more beyond that. There's so much to learn, and the club wouldn't run without volunteers," she said.

"We do it because we love it. Women's football is a really safe space to be."

Georgia Rooney, a qualified referee, coach and club secretary, said: "Without volunteers, this club wouldn't exist.

"One of my biggest responsibilities is to encourage other volunteers and to make them feel welcome and to support them, because it's that kind of community that holds a club like this together."

Becks Shaw, the club's equality officer, said equality, diversity and inclusion were "at the forefront of our minds in every decision".

"Even as far as making sure that the committee is diverse and that we represent our members," she said.

"And that we're considering things like age and sexual orientation, so that we're always really able to think about our members and represent them fully."

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