Londoners Magazine

Ruth Styles went to meet the London Titans, a gay friendly football team based in London.

The London Titans is a football club with a difference.

Based in Richmond in south west London, they are one of three London-based, gay friendly clubs along with Stonewall FC and Leftfooters.

They all play in the world’s only gay league and the London Titans made it to the finals of the Gay World Championships held last year in Argentina.

“I hadn’t expected us to get that far,” said Matt Baker, one of the Titans’ strikers. “It was the second division [the Gay World Championships has two], not the top, top division, but we got to the final and we lost it on penalties, so a typical English final.”

Homophobia in mainstream football is a well-documented problem. For a game that prides itself on tackling issues like racism and anti-Semitism, little progress has been made on dealing with prejudice against gay players.

In March this year FIFA President Sepp Blatter told The Times “there are gay footballers, but they don’t declare it because they think it will not be accepted in these macho organisations. But football is open for everybody, which is why they made a gay competition in South America.”

There are roughly 4,000 professional footballers currently playing in England. But in the English game’s history, only one player - Justin Fashanu - has been openly gay.

West Ham’s Freddie Ljungberg, Portsmouth’s Sol Campbell and former Chelsea man Graeme Le Saux have all suffered from speculation about their sexuality.

In Le Saux’s case it resulted in a well documented incident on the pitch in 1999, when Liverpool player Robbie Fowler mocked him after Fowler scored a goal. Fowler later apologised, but it was a reflection of attitudes in football that he thought it was acceptable.

Teams like the Titans offer the chance for gay men to play football without the risk of abuse from players and fans, although the segregation from the mainstream sport is still a glaring issue.

Baker said: “The culture is a problem. It’s not acceptable. You get people who are gay and they hide it. There are definitely some people out there in the Premier League who won’t come out and I don’t blame them.”

Baker, though, is at pains to point out that the London Titans team isn’t exclusively gay. “People think it’s a gay team but it’s actually a gay friendly team,” he said. “We have some straight players and anyone is welcome, whatever you are, whoever you are.”

Baker is hopeful that the problems faced by gay footballers can eventually be resolved and says he appreciates the efforts being made by the FA in their Football For All campaign.

However, he thinks much more needs to be done, on the terraces as well as on the pitch. “To be honest I think [the reaction] would be worse from the fans. The homophobia coming down from the stands would be too much - we’ve seen it already in a few cases.

“I suppose I could play for a mainstream Sunday League side but I think sometimes you have to conform socially and to the way they act - the things they do. I think it’s a different slant playing for a gay friendly team because it’s got different banter, different things in common and a different edge.”

In August, London will host the eleventh Gay World Championships. The London Titans, Stonewall FC and Leftfooters will be there, along with teams from Manchester, Yorkshire and Dublin.

Last years’ winners were Argentinean side Los Dogos, and clubs from Latin America, the USA and Europe will fielding teams in the competition. The majority of games will take place at Leftfooters’ Regent’s Park grounds, while the final, on 30 August, will be at Leyton Orient’s Matchroom Stadium in east London.

Last year both Stonewall FC and the London Titans came close to winning their divisions in the Championships. So if you fancy watching a football tournament that England might actually win, then the London 2008 Gay World Championships is for you.

The London Titans: www.londontitans.com
Gay World Championships: www.londonwc2008.co.uk

Photos from top to bottom: Matt Baker in action with the Titans, Matt Baker in action with the Titans, Matt Baker. All photos courtesy of Ruth Styles.