Ireland's First LGBT + Football Club Dublin Devils FC Celebrates 15th Anniversary

JAKARTA - Ireland's first LGBT + football club, Dublin Devils FC is celebrating its 15th year. The team was formed in 2005 when an advertisement was placed on Gay Community News by one of the founding members who was just looking for a casual event.

About 10 people turned up for this initial meeting and since then, the club has seen substantial growth with around 70-75 active members currently.

The club opens its doors to "anyone who loves football - gay, bi, transgender or straight".

Some members also work in the area of advocacy in sports which do not always appear friendly to members of the LGBT community, given the lack of openly well-documented gay players.

The Devils have received some support. Most recently a sponsorship from life insurance and pension company Irish Life provided funding for two new shirts with collars reading '1993' in reference to the year homosexuality was decriminalized in Ireland.

They also often hold annual friendly matches with the Shelbourne Legends team ahead of Pride Week and plan to send two teams to the Euro Gay Games in Copenhagen in July.

As they continue to grow, The Devils plan to hire a full-time coach, in addition to building a relationship with the Irish Football Association (FAI).

We had some great training sessions in the park over the summer months, even when we went to Level 3 restrictions. Thanks everyone for the support! 👍⚽️For anyone interested in joining, we welcome players of all abilities and looking to return when restrictions have been lifted pic.twitter.com/AzqlcXfHjb

- Dublin Devils FC ⚽ (@DublinDevilsFC) November 24, 2020

“In the past, (FAI) clearly had rainbow colors on the (Irish) senior uniform. But at the grassroots level, we'd like to see more engagement with them. "You obviously have visibility at the senior team level and that's good, but you will really make a difference at the grassroots level," said club treasurer John Coary, who joined since 2.5 years ago quoted from the42.ie, Tuesday, December 1.

"We have good players. They may stop playing for other clubs, because they do not want to reveal (sexual orientation). We offer their openness to continue playing football at a good level."

The lack of openly gay players in the Premier League and other elite competitions is an open secret. And Coary believes improving the situation at the grassroots level can help fix these problems in the long term.