Altrincham wear their colours in fight for equality
Today’s special rainbow kit shows support for the LGBT community, writes Charlie Eccleshare ‘If there are reasons why certain groups aren’t coming to watch games, then we need to change that’
When it comes to punching above your weight, Altrincham FC have set the standard for almost a century. This is a club, after all, who are synonymous with giant-killings, having pulled off more FA Cup upsets of Football League sides than any other exclusively non-league team – dating all the way back to a win against Tranmere in 1921.
On this FA Cup fifth-round weekend, however, Altrincham will be making an altogether different kind of history – and attempting to help defeat an even more intractable foe: homophobia.
For the past couple of years, sixth-tier Altrincham have led the way in inclusion and diversity, and today the Greater Manchester side will swap their red-and-white home kit for a rainbow-coloured strip based on the LGBT pride flag. It celebrates Football v Homophobia month and demonstrates the club’s solidarity with the LGBT community. For a couple of hours this afternoon, an otherwise unremarkable Vanarama National League North match against Bradford Park Avenue will become the centre of sport’s fight for equality. After the game, the shirts will be auctioned, with profits going to Manchester-based LGBT youth group the Proud Trust.
Altrincham’s kit change may seem radical but for director Bill Waterson, who leads the club’s inclusion and diversity drive, it was a no-brainer: “Football is our national game, therefore it’s part of our national character and so the people that come to see it should reflect our national demographic. And if there are reasons why certain groups aren’t coming to games, then we need to change that.”
Spanish side Rayo Vallecano had a rainbow sash on their away kit for the 2015-16 season but Waterson wanted to go a step further. “If we’re going to shout our support for the LGBT community, then we may as well go the whole hog and use the whole flag,” he says. “It’s not the most aesthetically pleasing of kits but we’re not making a fashion statement, we’re making a statement of belief.”
This kind of message has been typical of Altrincham since they appointed Waterson, a local lad and a fan since childhood, two years ago. Waterson, a 56-year-old IT specialist living in Buckinghamshire, has made it his mission to ensure Altrincham welcome every part of the population – regardless of colour, creed or sexual orientation. In 2018, gay men’s team Village Manchester FC were invited to an Altrincham match, while Waterson has worked with organisations such as Women at the Game, a group aimed at helping women feel comfortable at matches.
The response to Altrincham’s latest initiative has been overwhelmingly positive – even winning over the majority of Twitter users. “You might have had a nagging feeling that male footballers would express some negative reaction,” Waterson says. “But all the players have been positive. Our opponents today, Bradford Park Avenue, have also been very supportive. In general, the response has been fabulous.”
Altrincham’s change of strip has struck a chord up to Government level, where Baroness Williams, the minister for equalities, will be among a number of dignitaries attending today. Most gratifying for Waterson, though, has been the response of the LGBT community – especially a trans Arsenal supporter in the middle of gender reassignment who had stopped going to games after a crisis of confidence. Off the back of Altrincham announcing their rainbow kit, the fan has contacted Waterson to say trips to games might restart after the realisation that “the world isn’t against them”.
Waterson adds: “When I read the email, I felt a sadness thinking: ‘here’s something you love and you feel you can’t do it because you think the rest of us wouldn’t want you there.’ If we can overcome obstacles like that, then all the better.”
Marianne Oakes, meanwhile, a trans woman and the lead counsellor for an online service providing healthcare support to transgender and non-binary people, was “blown away” by the initiative.
The challenge is how football can build on this. The lack of any openly gay players in the League shows that there is still a major issue around a fear of homophobic abuse, so initiatives like Altrincham’s assume even greater importance. Waterson believes other clubs must make a stand.
“I would be delighted for any and every club to copy us,” he says. “We’re a small club and it’s not easy to have the bandwidth to do this sort of thing. But the more we do it and the more other clubs do it, the more widely established the message becomes and the easier to drive homophobia out of football.
“So, let’s have half a dozen clubs copying us, whether they’re in the Premier League or a team in Wales. This is not about copying us, or imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, it’s about finding ways to get the message across.”
To bid for one of Altrincham’s rainbow shirts, email lawrence@ altrinchamfootballclub.co.uk