This year, Arthur Webber made history. He captained what he claims was the first ever all-trans masculine soccer team in Europe in a match on a rainy March 31, 2023, evening. The trans pride flag’s primary colors of blue and pink were worn by the players as they took to the field.
People whose gender identity or expression (or both) is masculine and whose birth gender is female are referred to as trans masculine. People who are gender-fluid, non-binary, and transgender are all included in the broad definition.
For the 25-year-old Webber, who gave up football at the age of 13 and only started playing again in 2022, it was a night he couldn’t have dreamed of as a teenager. The game was played in front of 500 fans, fittingly on Transgender Visibility Day.
Webber stated to CNN, “I was quite nervous before the match.” I’ve never been commander, so it was an obligation I wasn’t utilized to. Additionally, I was aware that when we left, transphobes online would likely be watching us closely.
I wanted to make sure we got a good result and that the guys who played had a good time, especially since many of them hadn’t played football since high school. In the changing rooms, I had to explain the offside rule to a few of them!
Webber stopped playing soccer for eleven years. He gave up the sport when he came out as transgender as a teenager, but he never stopped loving it.
“There was a real sense of pride that we were there and that we were doing something special once we walked onto the pitch.”
The group that had that notable match are impact of a club called TRUK Joined FC – which was shaped in January 2021 with the underlying objective of fund-raising for their namesake, Trans Radio UK. They now want to connect the trans community and make soccer a sport that is more inclusive. The manager is Lucy Clark, who, according to the Football Association (FA), was the first transgender person to serve as a referee in English soccer in 2018. She also organized the first ever transgender all-female team in the world in 2022, also for TRUK.
Webber claims that Clark encouraged him to captain the all-transgender team last month. As manager, Clark has overseen TRUK United’s historic achievements.
The term “trans feminine” encompasses people who identify as feminine but were born with the gender “male.” The term incorporates trans ladies, non-double and orientation liquid individuals.
According to Webber, “she took me aside and said she’d been thinking about what we could do next and asked if I’d be interested in captaining an all trans masc team” after the all trans feminine team played their game and I played with the all gender team.
“I thought it was a great idea because I was the only transmasc player on the all-gender team, and there was a need for more trans men to be represented,” I said.
Too much pain’
Webber was delighted by the response to his social media call for trans men who want to play soccer, specifically on Twitter.
Before long, an entire 11-a-side group had gathered and it even incorporated an English television star – Debris Palmisciano plays the first trans character in the long-running drama “Emmerdale” and even drove down from Leeds to London just to play the match.
Webber is hopeful for the future of trans representation in soccer, both at the grassroots level and beyond, thanks to the match’s positive reception. Webber, however, believes that the sport is not doing enough at the moment.
According to right now, Webber, soccer isn’t trans comprehensive. ” Indeed, even in novice LGBTQ associations, the groups are generally comprised of cisgender gay men – there is an absence of trans individuals. He stated, “The number of trans people I know who play in LGBTQ clubs I can count on one hand.”
According to Webber, consideration for transgender individuals can frequently be overlooked in soccer.
Webber explained, “For example, clubs will sometimes book venues with only two changing rooms, one for each team that is playing.” However, if a team has players of different genders, such as mixed-gender soccer teams, they might not want to change in the same room as everyone else.
He believes that grassroots soccer, including LGBTQ clubs, and top clubs, such as those in the Premier League, still have a lot to learn. After coming out as transgender, Webber stopped playing soccer and also stopped following the sport. As a result, he didn’t keep up with his favorite Arsenal for many years. He stated that watching soccer while he felt like he couldn’t play simply “hurt too much.”
He now attends games at the Emirates stadium and is a member of the Gay Gooners, an LGBTQ fan group for the North London club. However, he focuses on that there is something else to be finished by top clubs for their trans allies:
“They are attempting. Webber stated to CNN, “I’ve done a lot of work with Arsenal over the years, and the big clubs have come a long way in including their trans fans.”
But the most important thing is to have transgender people in the rooms where decisions are made. To provide you with the necessary information, someone who is actually impacted by these issues must be present.
On Arsenal’s website, a statement reads, ” Arsenal in the Community has actively fought homophobia and provided education for LGBTQ+ people over the years. Stonewall has provided our community team with training to conduct LGBTQ+ awareness sessions for staff and community groups.
Testing times for trans individuals in sport
The memorable all trans masc match that occurred on Spring 31st came at an especially troublesome time for trans competitors.
World Games as of late prohibited some trans ladies from contending in female olympic style sports occasions, forthcoming another audit of their principles. The global governing body of rugby league outlawed transgender women’s participation in women’s international competition in June 2022.
The International Swimming Federation (FINA) approved a new policy that prohibits most transgender athletes from participating in elite women’s aquatics competitions that take place in the same month.
British Cycling outlawed transgender and non-binary riders from competition in April 2022.
At the moment, many trans people feel excluded from sports.
When World Athletics made its announcement in March, trans runner CeCe Telfer said she felt “devastation” for herself and “for many around the world” in an exclusive interview with CNN. However, Telfer made it abundantly clear that she would not be stopped from running.
Telfer told CNN’s Amanda Davies, “There’s a place for each and every one of us, and I know where I belong.” I simply believe the world should know that.”
What’s more, as things are getting harder for trans competitors all over the planet, day to day existence, as well, is getting more diligently for trans individuals – particularly in the UK.The noteworthy all trans masc match that occurred on Spring 31st came at an especially troublesome time for trans competitors.
Some trans women have been barred from competing in female track and field events by World Athletics pending a new review of their rules. In June 2022, the worldwide administering body for rugby association prohibited transsexual ladies from playing in ladies’ global matches.
The International Swimming Federation (FINA) approved a new policy that prohibits most transgender athletes from participating in elite women’s aquatics competitions that take place in the same month.
In April 2022, English Cycling prohibited trans and non-twofold riders from contest.
Numerous trans individuals feel rejected from sport right now.
When World Athletics made its announcement in March, trans runner CeCe Telfer said she felt “devastation” for herself and “for many around the world” in an exclusive interview with CNN. Yet, Telfer clarified that she wouldn’t discouraged from run.
Telfer told CNN’s Amanda Davies, “There’s a place for each and every one of us, and I know where I belong.” That’s all I want the world to know.
In addition, daily life for trans people is becoming increasingly difficult, particularly in the United Kingdom. In January, the UK government stopped a new law that would have allowed transgender people in Scotland to change their legal gender without a medical diagnosis.
In a subsequent tweet, the intervention was referred to as “a full-frontal attack on our democratically elected Scottish Parliament and its ability to make its own decisions on devolved matters” by the then-First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon.
Rishi Sunak, who is now Prime Minister, made a Twitter post during the race for the Conservative Party leadership in which he said he would protect “women’s rights.” He also included a link to an article in which an unidentified Sunak ally was quoted as saying the lawmaker was “critical of recent trends to erase women via the use of clumsy, gender-neutral language,” which refers to language that is meant to be inclusive of transgender and non-binary people
Sunak said just a few weeks ago that the government would release new guidelines on whether teachers should tell parents when a child questions their own gender identity.
The Guardian and Dazed reported in April that Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch is thinking about changing the UK Equality Act from 2010 to change the definition of “sex” to specifically refer to a person’s sex at birth. This would make it legal to exclude transgender people from “single-sex” spaces that match a trans person’s gender identity.
The Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) addressed a letter to Badenoch in which it recommended that a comprehensive policy and legal analysis be carried out “in compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty and with due regard to any possible disadvantages for trans men and trans women” and that the UK government should “consider the potential implications of this change.”
Webber hopes that the FA won’t follow other sport governing bodies and prohibit trans athletes from competing when it comes to trans representation in English soccer: I hope that internet trolls and transphobes don’t get the FA to give in to their pressure. I just hope they act ethically.
