Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Comment
Rachelle Abbott

The Leader podcast: Why coming out is important in football

Jake Daniels’ decision to come out as gay ‘takes incredible courage’ LGTBQ+ charity Stonewall said in a statement (Sky Sports News/PA)

Jake Daniels has made history by becoming the first openly gay male professional footballer in 32 years.

The Blackpool forward released a statement yesterday and has been praised by the likes of Harry Kane, Gary Lineker and even the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.

Daniels is the first active male footballer to come out in the UK since Justin Fashanu in 1990 and at just 17 years old, he’s set to be a role model for many years to come.

We speak to Joe White, the co-chair of Pride in Football, a network of UK LGBT+ football fans.

They tell us what this means for the community, whether they think any Premier League players will follow in Jake’s footsteps and we look ahead to the issues around the Qatar World Cup later this year.

Listen here, or here:

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.