Government to discuss trans inclusion in football and cricket
FOOTBALL and cricket’s transgender inclusion policies are set to come under Government scrutiny at a meeting this afternoon.
Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer has convened a gathering of national sports governing bodies to discuss developments related to the controversial topic.
The Football Association and the England and Wales Cricket Board’s policies are under review but do currently permit transgender women to compete in female competitions subject to certain conditions.
Ms Frazer told Sky News last month: “I think it’s very important that women are able to compete against women and there’s an inherent unfairness, that if you’re not biologically a woman, you have a competitive advantage.
“And I think a number of sports have looked at this very carefully and come to the decision that it’s not appropriate to have women competing against people who are not biologically women.
“We’ve seen that in rowing. We’ve seen that in swimming. And I would encourage other sporting bodies to look at that very carefully.”
Transgender women can play in adult female competitions governed by the FA provided their testosterone levels are within the natal female range for an appropriate period of time.
The ECB’s current transgender policy allows a trans woman to play in any female-only competition governed by the ECB and states that those individuals “should be accepted in the gender with which they identify”. The same principle applies at professional and England pathway level, subject to the trans woman being given written clearance to participate.
The ECB also has a separate disparity policy which can be applied when safety concerns are raised around differences in strength, stamina and physique, for example.
Transgender women were banned from female cricket at international level last year after a change in policy by the sport’s global governing body, the International Cricket Council.
It joined a number of other international federations, such as athletics, swimming and cycling, in stating that anyone who has been through any part of male puberty would no longer be eligible to play in international women’s cricket.
Meanwhile, cabinet minister Kemi Badenoch has accused “those in positions of influence” of “cowardice” in a row over approaches to gender care.
The Business Secretary called for an “in-depth review” into public bodies and their policies on trans issues.
In her first intervention since the publication of a landmark review into child gender services, Ms Badenoch suggested areas in the NHS had been “hijacked by ideologues”.
The Cass Review published last week said young people have been let down by a lack of research and evidence surrounding the use of puberty blockers and hormones.
Writing in The Sunday Times, the equalities minister said: “In the case of trans ideology, those who first publicly questioned its tenets were subjected to hysterical abuse and calumny.”