Several EFDN members highlight social inclusion awareness with specially designed kits
This week, EFDN members Southampton FC, Everton FC, FC Nordsjælland, and Ajax Amsterdam presented specially designed rainbow jerseys to raise awareness for inclusivity in sport.
In England, Southampton Football Club and Everton FC have teamed up with their Official Kit Supplier, hummel, to collaborate on a specially designed rainbow shirt to raise awareness for inclusivity in sport.
The rainbow shirts will be worn by both teams as they warm up ahead of their Premier League opening game of the season this Saturday, at Everton’s home ground Goodison Park, to show support for the LGBTQ+ community and help to fight discrimination in football.
More than one in five LGBTQ+ people have experienced homophobia or transphobia, while a report from Kick It Out has revealed that reports of abuse based on sexual orientation in professional football have increased by 95% in the past year.
Allan Vad Nielsen, hummel’s CEO:
‘It requires a solid team effort to create positive change in sport and beyond, and that’s why we are extremely proud to spread the message of openness in the world of sports by combining our biggest football sponsorships with our Copenhagen 2021 sponsorship.’
The new rainbow warm-up shirt is designed as a mash-up of all flags recognised by the LGBTQ+ community and underpins #YouAreIncluded, which is the overall theme of Copenhagen World Pride 2021.
‘Sport has a unique ability to connect people across nationalities, religions, cultures, and genders, and with this new rainbow design we want to bring together coaches, players, and fans from different clubs. Simply because we believe that we can only make a difference if we stand together as one team.’
Southampton’s Director of Marketing and Partnerships, Sarah Batters, added:
‘At Southampton Football Club we strive to make football an inclusive environment for everyone and we recognise that there is work to be done to champion the LGBTQ+ community and eliminate discrimination.’
‘At Southampton Football Club we strive to make football an inclusive environment for everyone and we recognise that there is work to be done to champion the LGBTQ+ community and eliminate discrimination.’
The Saints’rainbow shirts will be auctioned off to raise money for Saints Foundation following Saturday’s fixture against Everton FC.
On Merseyside, Everton captain Seamus Coleman:
‘As a club and a squad, we have long been committed to celebrating and promoting equality and diversity, not only in football but across society as a whole. It is so important we continue to create environments where people are able to be themselves and that we keep up the fight to eradicate prejudice.’
Regarding Everton’s Following the weekend’s fixtures, all warm-up shirts worn by the First Team and Women’s players will be signed and auctioned on matchwornshirt.com. Money raised from shirts will support Everton in the Community’s youth engagement programme, with a particular focus on delivering LGBTI+ awareness elements in primary and secondary schools.
Not only in England but also in Amsterdam and Denmark teams showed up in special rainbow coloured themed jerseys.
Special shirt for Dutch Super Cup
During the warm-up of their Super Cup match against PSV Eindhoven, players of Ajax Amsterdam wore a one-off special shirt, which included a purple Ajax logo with championship stars in different colours, the three Amsterdam Andreas crosses in multiple colours and back number 25.
On the spot where normally the name of the main sponsor is displayed, there was now the connecting text ‘Love Unites’. During the line-up for the match, the players wore a matching jacket. With the statement on the pitch, Ajax congratulates Amsterdam Pride with its 25th anniversary and stresses the need for a diverse and inclusive society.
FC Nordsjælland with new edition
Danish EFDN member FC Nordsjælland also launched a pride jersey, for the second time after an initiative in 2019. This Monday they hosted OB in the 3F Superliga match in their new Pride shirts.
FCN announced the campaign with the slogan: ‘Dare to be’, an invitation to find your light, push the boundaries of understanding Pride and show all your colors. The action was also related to the annual Pride Week in Copenhagen. A week of visible focus on diversity, inclusion, human rights, and not least the LGBTQIA+ environment.
FC Nordsjælland have chosen an iridescent and reflective effect in their logo, which sparkles in the colours of the rainbow. It’s an expression of how we understand diversity: a wide range of colours that come alive through light, movement and change. The effect in the logo represents our mission to build a club that serves as a platform for all our players, staff, fans, partners and communities, where there is room for self-expression and diversity.
At the top of the back of the jersey is a symbol that is a fusion between a heart and a peace sign. Peace and love represent our human capacity to use love as a driving force. A universal trait that unites us all.
Trine Hesselund Hopp Møller, CO-CEO of FC Nordsjælland:
‘As we know, we believe in a more open and inclusive future, but we also believe that it requires the courage to want to make a difference. Football’s voice and awareness has a great potential to do great things in many areas that are not just about sport, but it requires us to stand together.’
‘There are some clear and fundamental values in FC Nordsjælland that we always strive to live by in practice, in everything we do. Every day we work to accommodate, include and collaborate between people from all corners of the world with different cultural backgrounds. We try to make a difference in several areas in our daily lives, but we still believe that there is a long way to go in terms of equality and acceptance of sexual beliefs in the general football world. This summer’s European Championship was a prime example of this, with several incidents being handled in an exclusionary manner in relation to the LGBTQIA+ community.’
