Premier League to replace Rainbow Laces with new LGBTQ campaign
The world’s richest pro soccer league will develop its own inclusion initiative. The charity Stonewall says its 12-year-old campaign continues. The post Premier League to replace Rainbow Laces with new LGBTQ campaign appeared first on Outsports.
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The Premier League will not activate Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces campaign in the 2025-26 season, having decided to launch its own LGBTQ inclusion initiative instead.
Since 2014, the year after Rainbow Laces began as a way for footballers to show allyship towards any teammates who might be gay or bisexual, English soccer’s elite men’s competition has supported an annual campaign activation, usually held in November and December.
However, the Premier League now plans to align with LGBT+ History Month in the UK, which takes place in February, and is also the annual Month of Action for the Football v Homophobia campaign.
The shift in approach has already been reflected on the Premier League’s official website, where references to Rainbow Laces have been removed.
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Meanwhile, the Football Association, which has also supported the Stonewall campaign for many years and included mentions of it when launching a new four-year inclusion strategy last season, is planning to move on from Pride rainbow flag symbolism.
The FA has indicated it is still working through its broader LGBTQ inclusion plans, but will maintain a focus on grassroots soccer. Earlier this summer, the governing body issued new regulations that restrict the participation of trans players from affiliated competitions they were previously able to access, in the light of a ruling by the UK’s Supreme Court.
The Women’s Super League worked with Stonewall on a Rainbow Laces activation last season that preceded that of the Premier League. At the time of writing, guidance on its plans for 2025-26 was not yet available.
The developments around arguably the best-known LGBTQ campaign in sports come shortly after the release of Home Office statistics that showed an increase in the number of Premier League matches where homophobia were reported.
This week, the anti-discrimination organization Kick It Out released data related to reports it has received over the last 12 months. Amid record levels of discrimination recorded, transphobia doubled, while homophobia and biphobia in the pro and grassroots game were only marginally down from the previous year.
The FA’s most recent grassroots review showed more proven charges of homophobia than for any other form of discrimination.
In the last two Premier League seasons, there have been challenging moments involving players linked to the Rainbow Laces campaign activation.
In November 2023, Sheffield United’s Anel Ahmedhodzic chose not to wear a rainbow captain’s armband provided to all Premier League skippers to show allyship. A year later, Ipswich’s Sam Morsy also snubbed the armband, while his Crystal Palace counterpart Marc Guehi wore one but added religious messages to it.
Ahmedhodzic and Morsy have both been transferred to overseas clubs this summer, and the vast majority of captains have worn the rainbow armbands, seemingly without issue. England goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, who has a brother who is gay, spoke in support of the campaign in a specially commissioned Premier League film released in November.
However, according to The Telegraph, a meeting of Premier League skippers ahead of the new season ended with an agreement that rainbow armbands would not be worn in league games in the future.
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Rise in number of Premier League matches where homophobia is reported
More than a third of both Chelsea and Brighton’s domestic matches last season were subject to reports of homophobic incidents.
As for the colorful laces, in recent years, very few footballers have played with them threaded into their soccer boots.
Some WSL teams have had rainbow shirt numbers and a few players have even woven the laces into their hair, but the campaign has mostly been promoted through media content produced by leagues, clubs and broadcasters, and matchday visibility such as rainbow corner flags and “handshake boards.”
For the charitable foundations and trusts of professional clubs, the campaign activation has provided a lens through which to talk about LGBTQ inclusion work with local communities. Fan groups in particular have largely welcomed the spotlight afforded to them by Rainbow Laces.
The Premier League consulted with a range of stakeholders earlier this year before deciding to embark on a new direction. Some of its educational resources used in programs like Primary Stars are linked to Rainbow Laces; these remain available now but will be reviewed and likely updated in time.
Stonewall says Premier League decision is part of ‘ebb and flow’
In a statement provided to Outsports, Stonewall stressed the progress made since the campaign’s genesis in 2013, which featured “guerilla tactics” and a partnership with a controversial bookmaker.
“The sporting landscape was very different both in terms of acceptance and in terms of participation,” said a spokesperson for the charity.
“The Premier League has significantly helped to shift the dial and while it is still difficult for elite players themselves to always be openly LGBTQ, there are now some role models; at the grassroots level, it is now much easier and as a fan, there is much acceptance for people to be openly themselves.”
Stonewall says the Premier League’s decision to move on from Rainbow Laces is part of the “natural ebb and flow” of the campaign, “reflecting cultural and sporting changes.”
The spokesperson added: “Alongside the Premier League, the FA has been instrumental in advancing the importance of inclusion, particularly at the grassroots and more recently, the Women’s Super League has taken up the mantle as the women’s game has grown — enabling us to reach more diverse audiences, incredible for LGBTQ inclusion but also for female representation in elite sport.
“However, all campaigns need to stay fresh and repeatedly revisit what they are trying to achieve and what audiences they are trying to reach — campaigning is never a static exercise.
“Increasingly, we are seeing a younger generation where 1 in 10 identify as LGBTQ+ thinking about fitness, health and mental well-being and increasingly we are thinking about the role Rainbow Laces can play in those spaces; where inclusion and participation remains as important as ever.”
The most prominent sport other than soccer to have stuck with Rainbow Laces in the last few years has been professional darts, with governing body the PDC activating the campaign at its annual Grand Slam of Darts tournament in November.
When contacted by Outsports this week, the Premier League, The FA and the WSL all insisted that their commitment to LGBTQ inclusion would continue.
As for Rainbow Laces, without its dedicated spot in the Premier League calendar, there will be an inevitable fade in focus towards it, though it is expected the laces themselves will still be available to buy from Stonewall, supporting the charity’s ongoing work.
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The post Premier League to replace Rainbow Laces with new LGBTQ campaign appeared first on Outsports.
