Education at heart of initiative to ensure players and fans are 'always part of a team'; Football v Homophobia continuing to work with UK clubs on LGBT inclusion in sport
Monday 21 August 2017 16:30, UK
Ruud van Nistelrooy has one of the greatest goals-to-games ratios in Premier League history, scoring 95 times in 150 PL appearances for Manchester United from 2001 to 2006.
But even though the Dutchman's playing days are over, his desire for accuracy remains fierce.
Earlier this year, a fledgling campaign group called 'Heroes of Football' contacted the Netherlands assistant coach and asked him to film a testimonial video. The subject matter? Inclusion in football, regardless of sexual orientation.
"We talked about the topic and Van Nistelrooy said, 'yeah sure, it should have been addressed a long time ago. What would you like me to say?'," recalls project manager Jose van der Mark.
"We said to him, 'if you could just say that it (a person's sexuality) is not a problem with you...', but he replied, 'No. We have to address it specifically.'"
Van Nistelrooy's contribution formed part of the Heroes of Football launch night in Amsterdam last month, where representatives of 10 football associations across Europe signed a diversity pledge. Holding a rainbow football in the video, he addresses the camera directly.
"This message is for everyone who loves football. To me, football is my life. Football is for everyone - for me, for you, everyone. Whatever your cultural background or religion, whether you are lesbian or gay, it makes no difference to me. Together, we can make sure everyone feels welcome. In my team, everyone is equal.
"You are always part of my team."
Here in the UK, that message is being heard more widely than ever before, thanks in large part to initiatives like Rainbow Laces and Football v Homophobia, and ongoing discussions and debates in parliament.
Across Europe, however, diversity is not as universally prominent on sporting agendas. It's the aim of Heroes of Football to change that, by working together with governing bodies, clubs and all who want to create a more inclusive environment in the game.
"We find many boys and girls who are beginning to identify as LGBT are giving up on football at the ages of 13 or 14," says Van der Mark.
"You lose talent. Football should be a copy of how society is operating. There must be football players who are LGBT - but they don't feel free to talk about that."
One objective of the project, which is funded by the EU's Erasmus+ programme, is to assemble a team of young 'out' players at an amateur level, telling their stories with the support of professional footballers.
In the launch video, Napoli's Belgium international winger Dries Mertens talks to and trains with Danilo Verboom, who is playing at an amateur level in Holland.
"The more who come out, the more it will be seen as positive," says Mertens, and the hope is that other pro players from across the continent will step forward and similarly lend their voices in order to make the diversity message go further.
Mertens' international team-mate Radja Nainggolan of Roma is also on board.
Van der Mark explains: "If you have football icons saying 'it's OK to be gay, it's OK to come out because it has nothing to do with you playing soccer'... if you have a player or coach standing up saying 'whatever happens, I will be there for you', it's a first step.
"For an amateur player or a young kid, that could be a tremendous help."
Danilo, who spoke at the launch event, agreed. "The first time I saw the testimonial, it was quite emotional for me. I realised it took me around five years until I had built up enough self-confidence to do a project like this.
"Only one single characteristic (of mine), which differs from most other people, must have been the reason for that. I cannot change it and more importantly, I do not want to change it anymore, because no one around me gives me a reason to feel or do so. It is simply who I am - and I am so much more than one characteristic."
Another key figure signed up is Jesus Tomillero, the first openly gay referee in Spain. The 21-year-old initially quit the game in May due to homophobic abuse directed at him while officiating in Andalucia; he returned to football, but has since received death threats and even had to be placed under police protection for a period of time.
The abuse on social media has been particularly virulent. But there is support from Tomillero in his homeland too - at the end of October, he attended Barcelona's home game against Granada as a special guest of the La Liga champions, meeting Andres Iniesta among others.
"(Barca) showed that it is possible to fight for a world of football where there is a place for everybody, without distinctions," Tomillero told the Heroes of Football launch.
"Let's hope a lot of federations follow the example of Barcelona. My own federation, the Spanish one, still does not care about my case. I did not even receive a simple phone call." Upon hearing that, Dutch FA president Michael van Praag, in attendance in Amsterdam, vowed to address the matter directly with his Spanish counterpart.
Encouraging national FAs across Europe to sign up to the Heroes of Football project presents various challenges.
"Ukraine and Russia were in our 'top 10', but they are not ready for this project yet," acknowledges Van der Mark. "There are countries that say 'we need more time' before they are ready to tackle this topic.
"But we do want to roll this out in every major European country. It's a very open concept. It's aimed at an amateur level at the moment, but we need the FAs to give it strength and power."
One important element of the campaign is a downloadable toolkit, with components relevant to different groups involved in football (fans, parents, coaches, etc).
Along with campaign videos and factsheets, there is also a Heroes of Football 'virtual reality' app, which places the user in a challenging team environment, to replicate how it would feel to be excluded from football.
A full documentary film is due to be released in 2017 to accompany the educational material.
Among the organisations who provided input into the toolkit was the UK's Pride Sports, the LGBT sports development and equity organisation which manages the Football v Homophobia campaign.
Pride Sports director Lou Englefield is optimistic about what Heroes of Football might achieve, but appreciates the size of the task ahead.
"It mirrors a piece of work that Football v Homophobia does in the UK, so we were happy to get involved in the project," said Englefield.
"One of the challenges of working on a project like this is that Europe is so diverse. Even within the EU, you have countries like the UK that have a particular level of legislation on LGBT inclusion, and then you have countries such as several of those in Eastern Europe which may have only recently adopted protective legislation. Creating something which is pan-European and meaningful is always a big ask.
"But I would really like to see more support from players who allied themselves with campaigns like this - certainly, we'd love to have that as part of the Football v Homophobia campaign. We have had managers who have spoken out, like Arsene Wenger. The more players, managers and people of influence who can talk about LGBT inclusion in sport, the better."
The FvH campaign is currently looking towards its next annual month of action in February 2017, when clubs will again be encouraged to focus on the educational side of the fight against homophobia in sport.
Englefield, who co-founded Pride Sports back in 2006, is pleased with the increased awareness around the issue following the success of this year's Rainbow Laces campaign, but says further education work with clubs is vital.
ICM research for Stonewall in September found 63% of people felt more should be done to make LGBT people feel accepted in sport, while the BBC's ComRes poll in October found that 68% of those surveyed wanted clubs to do more to educate fans about homophobia.
"I think we've reached a pivotal stage," adds Englefield. "From our perspective, the world is very different now to how it was in 2006 - but I still think there's a lot of work to be done.
"Change has to happen on every single level. What we're talking about here is a significant cultural change in sport, and in football in particular. With all the will in the world, that isn't going to happen overnight.
"Mainly it lies in education, in explaining to people what needs to change, how it needs to change, and the difference they can make to the environment they work in."
Follow the links for more information on Heroes of Football and Football v Homophobia.
