Trans sports players are finding their community
Trans sports players are finding their community: Jay, speaking to OpenDemocracy as a player for goals aloud in Alternative Football League. said ” For a few hours, I get to run around every Wednesday and forget about my everyday worries. And I get to do something with my body that makes me feel strong about my body and at home in it.
“Because now I’m not worrying about what people are thinking of my body or what it looks like. I get to experience what it can do- its reflexes, its strength, its flexibility. As a trans person that is an exquisite and rare luxury.”
Co-founder speaks about AFL- Alternative football league
According to the co-founder Beth Barnes of the AFL “ The league is providing a safe and open space in Greater Manchester for women, transgender, and non-binary individuals to take to the pitch. Allow some to participate for the very first time”.
Jay further said: “I have been seeking a sense of belonging and I think I’ve genuinely found it for the first time here at AFL.”
The Alternative Football League “believes that sport accessible to everyone has a great impact on mental health, especially for LGBTQ+ individuals who have perhaps feel excluded from the community and sports that come with it for the majority of their lives.”
Paula who is a football player for Trans Radio UK United FC (TRUK), Goal Diggers, and Peckham Town Women says
“It’s so therapeutic to play. Playing football is just so good for my self-worth and self-esteem. I’m more fit mentally and physically than I’ve ever been in my life before.”
Lily, who is a player for Cardiff Dragons FC, also said “looking for a club that is more supportive as an agender person,” “It gives opportunities to present in my gender in an environment where I know that there are people out there who will gonna support me”