Bohemians and Dublin Devils Announce Partnership and Reaffirm LGBTQ+ Inclusive Position

Bohemians and Dublin Devils Announce Partnership and Reaffirm LGBTQ+ Inclusive Position

Bohemian Football Club and Dublin Devils FC are delighted to announce a new partnership that reaffirms both clubs’ position as being LGBTQ+ inclusive. The partnership will see the launch of the first Pride of Dalymount Cup on June 10th when Bohemians Legends and Fans XI will play the Dublin Devils at Dalymount Park. Both clubs will also collaborate on lobbying for the implementation of LGBTQ+ policy in Irish football, on coaching, and work together to combat homophobia and transphobia in the sport.

“Our partnership with Bohemians is a landmark moment for the LGBTQ+ community within football in Ireland. For too long, LGBTQ+ people have been invisible and neglected in football, and we have seen first-hand the homophobia and transphobia that our community faces in our game.

Bohemians have been doing great work in the community for a number of years now. This is why we are so pleased to announce this partnership and declare our joint commitment to combat homophobia and transphobia. Together, we will take action and work towards making football an open and inclusive space for all LGBTQ+ people.

Founded in 2005, Dublin Devils FC are Ireland’s largest LGBTQ+ inclusive football team. Our 11-a-side football team plays in the UCFL and the UK’s Gay Football Supporters Network (GFSN), becoming the first Irish team to reach the final in 2021 and have done so again this year. The Dublin Devils run a number of social football games each week. The club’s ethos is to provide a safe and welcoming place for LGBTQ+ people of all abilities to play football.”

Adam Kane, Dublin Devils PRO and Club Captain

“The Bohs Pride committee was established in 2022 to organise Bohs’ participation in the Pride parade and we look forward to joining the march in 2023. As part of Pride month, we will be announcing other exciting projects, but this new collaboration with the Dublin Devils is another huge step forward. We are very excited to work alongside the Devils in raising LGBTQ+ inclusivity in football.”

Jim McElroy, Bohs Pride Committee

“We are delighted to partner with the Dublin Devils and reaffirm our position of being an LGBTQ+ inclusive club. We see this as another important step in the struggle to tackle homophobia and transphobia head-on.

As well as our primary purpose of operating a football club with over 50 teams of all types, we have engaged with huge numbers of people through our diverse range of programmes to ensure that we are a force for good. This partnership builds into our five-year Football Social Responsibility strategy launched this year in the Mansion House.

Dublin Bus, our diversity and inclusion partners, enable us to build on much work already undertaken and we would like to once again thank them for their support in this area.

We do not shy away from the fact that football generally has a long way to go in being a truly hospitable place for the LGBTQ+ community. This new partnership with the Devils, our existing partnership with ShoutOut and our participation in the Pride parade with GayBohs are all actions geared towards bringing football where it needs to be. Football and Bohs are for all.”

Daniel Lambert, Bohemian FC COO

“It is fantastic to see this partnership happening. The progress made by Bohs since we first nervously hung the GayBohs flag in 2016 has been great; from flying the Pride flag at every game to the participation in Pride last year and the workshops with ShoutOut. It’s so positive to see Bohs engaging in real world change rather than pinkwashing. We can’t wait to see what’s next.”

GayBohs, the Bohs LGBTQ+ supporters’ group