Leeds United becomes the first football club in Britain to join Stonewall's Diversity Champions programme to promote gay equality in the sport.
The Championship outfit will be promoting Stonewall's iconic "Some People Are Gay. Get Over It!" message in their matchday programmes.
Stonewall's Diversity Champions programme promotes and develops good practise for organisations like Leeds who want to initiate gay-friendly environments to support their gay employees and volunteers.
The programme will also train the club's stewards to tackle homophobic abuse and chanting when present at matches.
"This is very important to us because Leeds United is an all-inclusive football club where everybody is welcome and can feel a part of," Leeds Managing Director David Haigh told the club's website.
"Diversity is an important issue for sport in general, and by taking the lead on this, we are not only hoping to make a positive impact on our own club, but on football as a whole, and we hope other clubs will follow."
Laura Doughty, Stonewall Deputy Chief Executive, added: "By joining the Diversity Champions programme Leeds United recognises that people perform better when they can be themselves, whether on or off the pitch.
"They are showing that they are a forward thinking 21st century employer who wants to recruit, develop and support the very best staff.
"We hope other clubs will follow Leeds United's lead and take steps to make sure they create an environment where all their staff can thrive and fans can fully enjoy matches."
In September 2013, Stonewall teamed up with bookmaker Paddy Power to encourage players to show their support for gay footballers by wearing rainbow coloured boot laces.
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| Leeds joins 640 major employer members on Stonewall's Diversity Champions programme |
The Championship outfit will be promoting Stonewall's iconic "Some People Are Gay. Get Over It!" message in their matchday programmes.
Stonewall's Diversity Champions programme promotes and develops good practise for organisations like Leeds who want to initiate gay-friendly environments to support their gay employees and volunteers.
The programme will also train the club's stewards to tackle homophobic abuse and chanting when present at matches.
"This is very important to us because Leeds United is an all-inclusive football club where everybody is welcome and can feel a part of," Leeds Managing Director David Haigh told the club's website.
"Diversity is an important issue for sport in general, and by taking the lead on this, we are not only hoping to make a positive impact on our own club, but on football as a whole, and we hope other clubs will follow."
Laura Doughty, Stonewall Deputy Chief Executive, added: "By joining the Diversity Champions programme Leeds United recognises that people perform better when they can be themselves, whether on or off the pitch.
"They are showing that they are a forward thinking 21st century employer who wants to recruit, develop and support the very best staff.
"We hope other clubs will follow Leeds United's lead and take steps to make sure they create an environment where all their staff can thrive and fans can fully enjoy matches."
In September 2013, Stonewall teamed up with bookmaker Paddy Power to encourage players to show their support for gay footballers by wearing rainbow coloured boot laces.
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Also see:
- Ex-Chelsea player Mateja Kežman calls homosexuality a 'disease'
- Robbie Rogers joins LA Galaxy to become first openly gay player in MLS
- Nigeria ban lesbians from women's league & national team
- West Ham's Matt Jarvis goes topless for gay magazine Attitude
- Swedish team sack entire squad for homophobic abuse
