With the deal, Manchester United becomes the UK’s first football club to partner with Stonewall.
Under a mission of making sure that all lesbian, gay, bi and trans people, in the UK and abroad, know they’re not alone, Stonewall partners with organizations that help them create real change for the better.
This partnership provides Stonewall a unique opportunity to help LGBT athletes who may be dealing with issues of homophobia, discrimination, and becoming openly LGBT in a sport due to these issues.
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The initiative is called TeamPride and seeks to harness the message of equality within the LGBT community, and society, through the power of sports. TeamPride consists of countless worldwide businesses from many different spectrum areas, and now Manchester United is allowing for Stonewall to penetrate the UK soccer market.
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Manchester United’s Group Managing Director, Richard Arnold, made a statement on the partnership saying, “Manchester United always looks to be a leader in everything it does, and we are proud to be the first sports club to sign up to TeamPride.”
With added support in the sports realm, arguably one of the harder realms to penetrate, LGBT progress can only increase.
To Stonewall, this partnership is extremely valuable. Ruth Hunt, the Chief Executive of Stonewall, explained, “Manchester United’s support means we can reach millions of football fans both here and around the world, to encourage them to do their part to make people feel welcome in sport.”
Last year, United created their own equality, diversity, and inclusion campaign called #allredallequal.
United initially partnered with Stonewall in 2016, but instead of just attending the TeamPride Conference and taking part in the Rainbow Laces campaign, this year, United will host the Rainbow Laces Summitt at Old Trafford.
To learn more about Stonewall, check out their website at https://www.stonewall.org.uk/
