Women's football: England captain Casey Stoney reveals reasons for coming out

Casey Stoney says helping to tackle prejudice was one of the main reasons behind speaking openly about her sexuality - and has revealed she has been thrilled by the response

Earlier this week, the Arsenal Ladies defender, who captained the Team GB women's football team at London 2012, spoke publicly for the first time about being gay.

And speaking exclusively to skysports.com, Stoney revealed she wanted to play her part in breaking down barriers.

She said: "Being England captain and maybe a high profile person in the women's game, I'd like to think that I'm in a position where people can look at me and think if she's done it then I can also feel comfortable in myself."

"It's a really important message to send out that you need to be comfortable in your own skin whether you're gay, you're black, you're white it doesn't matter.

"It's about the person that you are and for me as a footballer it is about what I do on the pitch that matters. It's not about the person that I love or the colour of my skin.

"There should be no prejudices in this world and I'd like to think that by doing this I've gone a little way to helping tackle some of those prejudices a little bit."

Stoney said she had been asked to talk about being gay prior to last year's Euro 2013 campaign but felt it was not fair to her teammates to create a distraction ahead of the tournament in Sweden.

The former Chelsea and Charlton defender admitted she felt nervous speaking about it but has been taken aback by the amount of support she has received.

"The reaction has been absolutely overwhelming in terms of positivity," she said. "I'll be honest with you - the fear and not knowing what the response would be stopped me doing it before.

"I always thought it would be negative and how wrong could I have been - it's been so positive.

"Making a difference and making people feel more comfortable within themselves is what this has been all about. I'm comfortable in my own skin now for the first time in many many years.

"I'm not afraid of what other people think because I know I can look myself in the mirror every day and I'm a good person. I know that I'm loved and I know that I'm supported by those that matter to me."

Former Aston Villa midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger and former Leeds United winger Robbie Rogers are two players in the men's game that have announced that they are gay.

But Stoney believes it is easier for female footballers to come out rather than their male counterparts.

"I think it's easier because the profile of the women's game is not the same as the men's game," she said.

"We don't have 40 or 50,000 people in the stands every week and fans that are going to try and do anything to make you play badly.

"There is much more of a family atmosphere. People are very much concentrated on what you do on the pitch not what you do off it.

"Culturally it's very different in the women's game and I think that's why the guys might find it a lot more difficult."