An Oldham school's Pride club got to meet some Man City legends as part of Pride Month.
Co-op Academy Failsworth’s LGBTQ+ Pride Club was established at the beginning of this academic year.
The club is open to all students who identify as LGBTQ+ or as allies of the community.
Currently, no footballers in the men’s Premier League publicly identify as LGBT+.
However, several high-profile players in the women’s game do identify as such.
In May of this year, 17-year-old Blackpool forward Jake Daniels became the only openly gay male professional footballer in Britain.
Between 40 to 50 students attend weekly meetings to discuss important people in the local community, their role models or talking points, and issues affecting the LGBTQ+ community.
As part of Pride month, celebrated throughout June, City’s goalkeeper Scott Carson joined the group on a virtual call to discuss what the group meant to each of its members.
Following the success of the meeting, Alex Williams – an ambassador from Manchester City’s charity City in the Community – attended one of their sessions in person.
Former City goalkeeper Alex gifted the Pride Club a signed canvas painted by the women’s team as part of December’s Rainbow Laces celebration.
Reflecting on the visit, Williams said: “It was great to be able to get out into the local area and learn more about Co-op Academy Failsworth’s Pride Club in person.
“It is brilliant to see students of all ages, who both identify as LGBTQ+ or allies, engaging in some important discussions around the community and sporting inclusion.
“The Club and CITC have always taken pride in our community ethos, and it is fantastic to show our support to groups such as these.
“I would like to thank Co-op Academy Failsworth for making us feel so welcome on our visit, and we are all looking forward to working with the school in future.”
The group was set up by Citizenship and Religious Education teacher Giles Briscoe, aged 25.
Speaking to The Oldham Times, Giles said: “Man City reached out about five months ago.
“They heard of our club through word-of-mouth and we got speaking, and they wanted to create some content for Pride Month and were excited by how big our Pride Club is.
“It’s been quite hard at other schools I’ve worked at to have a decent group going.
“With the Blackpool footballer Jake Daniels coming out, we’re at the point where kids these days are going to see the sort of visibility that I, as a teacher, definitely didn’t see growing up.
“It was funny – Scott Carson asked who in the room was a big football fan and everyone stayed quiet – which kind of speaks to kids not feeling massively welcomed in football.
“But the kids were properly impressed – especially those who weren’t a part of Pride Club – they were so excited at Man City coming in.
“Alex and Scott were open to hearing their points of view – they weren’t trying to give us a company line on what Man City is doing.
“They were listening to what our young people said about sport. It was nice to see them be open, and they spoke back too with a lot on wider inclusion in football, such as racism and women’s inclusion, too.”
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