The World Cup has never had an out gay player. So we’re elevating their voices.
With zero out LGBTQ players in the FIFA World Cup, it's important to highlight the voices of gay soccer players everywhere.
Mark
As the FIFA World Cup approaches, there’s a statistic that keeps spinning in my mind.
At the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, there were 96 publicly out LGBTQ players across the 32 participating countries.
At this year’s men’s FIFA World Cup, there will again be zero out players across 48 teams.
Sixteen more teams, 96 fewer out athletes.
What’s more, in the history of the men’s World Cup, there has not been one single gay or bi player to compete while being publicly out.
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In fact, only one player in history — Thomas Hitzlsperger of Germany — has ever played in a World Cup and then come out as gay. (Robbie Rogers played in the Summer Olympics for the USMNT but did not play in the World Cup.)
Let that all sink in.
Ninety-six players on the women’s side in one tournament. Zero in the history of the men’s tournament.
Centering the voices of gay and bi men in soccer — and in fact any LGBTQ person in men’s soccer — will be so important for our community in the coming weeks, as the FIFA World Cup takes center stage across America.
That’s why at Outsports, we’ve created the Outsports Soccer Power 26, which will highlight 26 out LGBTQ people with power and influence in men’s soccer around the world. We’ll release our selections on June 11, and they will include gay men, trans people, lesbians and everyone else in between.
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2 gay former MLS players join Pride House LA/West Hollywood
It’s also why it was important to us at Out Athlete Fund — I’m one of the founding board members — to make sure we center the voices of gay pro soccer players at Pride House LA/West Hollywood, which will take over Beaches Tropicana and run during the first four days of the World Cup, June 11-14.
We are one of the dozen-plus Pride Houses coming to World Cup host cities like San Francisco, Philadelphia, Toronto and Atlanta.
How will we center the voices of out people in men’s soccer?
In Major League Soccer history, there have been only five players to come out either during or after their professional careers.
Two of those players — Collin Martin and Matt Hatzke — will join us at Pride House LA/West Hollywood on June 14 for a celebration and conversation of being “Out In The Game.” The other three gay former MLS players are David Testo, Matt Pacifici and, of course, two-time MLS Cup champion Robbie Rogers.
Martin and Hatkze will join me for a conversation sharing dynamics they saw and lessons they learned as gay athletes in their pro soccer careers, some of the support they’ve received, issues they faced, and we’ll explore the age-old question of why there aren’t more out players in men’s sports.
“It’s going to be really special sharing my story at Pride House LA/West Hollywood as I unwind this chapter of my playing career,” Martin told Outsports just hours after he announced his retirement from pro soccer. “To be able to have the chance to celebrate the biggest sporting event coming to the USA with the community that means so much to me, was something I didn’t want to miss out on.”
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“If I have one regret,” gay former San Jose Earthquakes player Matt Hatzke writes, “it’s that I didn’t live my life and share the real me with my teammates.”
Hatzke pointed to the lack of out players at the World Cup as a motivation for sharing his story during the massive worldwide sporting event.
“The World Cup is the chance to bring to light the lack of participation of specifically gay and LGBT men at the highest levels of soccer,” Hatzke said of lending his voice to the conversation on June 14.
Hatzke also acknowledged another major role of the Pride Houses across North America: “It’s also a great chance to celebrate our community in sports.”
While Martin came out publicly during his MLS playing career, Hatzke waited until after retirement, giving each of these men a different perspective.
Yet they both see sharing their stories as important steps to empowering others to do the same. As Outsports’ motto says: Courage is contagious.
“I hope young people, or anyone who struggles to come out, see a little of themselves in us,” Hatzke said, “and I hope there are people who see that it’s possible to come out and live authentically.”
The day before this conversation with two gay players from men’s soccer, Pride House LA/West Hollywood will feature two out players from women’s soccer when wives and former USWNT players Tobin Heath and Christen Press record a live RE-CAP Show from Pride House.
The FIFA World Cup is the biggest sporting event in the world. While there are no out players, it presents an opportunity for our community to showcase the voices of LGBTQ people across men’s soccer, and across the sporting world.
We at Outsports will be doing that as much as we can.
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