The Northern Counties East Football League is proud to be supporting the Football v Homophobia campaign in its annual month of activation in February.

The League has signed up as an #FvH2025 Champion and encourages all its clubs to reaffirm their commitment to tackling homophobia, which continues to be a major issue in our sport.

The FA’s most recent Grassroots Disciplinary Review, released in late December, shows a near 20% increase in allegations of discrimination relating to sexual orientation.

This data covers matches played at Step 5 and below of the men’s football pyramid and Step 3 and below of the women’s football pyramid in the 2023/24 season.

The Review also shows that there are now more proven charges of homophobia at grassroots level than for any other type of discrimination. Stronger punishments, such as fines and suspensions, have been introduced to combat this.

FvH, which has been running since 2010, works across the game to provide education and resources that can help clubs and leagues in their efforts to eliminate homophobic language and behaviour.

In February, the campaign invites clubs to consider designating a matchday to #FvH2025 or they can choose to activate the message in a different way. The NCEL is one of at least 15 leagues to have registered so far, with more Champions coming on board all the time.

In our area, professional clubs who have already signed up include Leeds United, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday and Rotherham United.

It’s simple to be a part of #FvH2025 – decide how your club will support and fill out the form here - https://www.footballvhomophobia.com/grassroots/.