Two of the city’s LGBTQ+ charities are taking a stand against the final of the FIFA World Cup.
Ahead of the final of the coveted football tournament, held in Qatar on Sunday, December 18, LCR Pride Foundation and Sahir House are “uniting to raise awareness”, support and funds for LGBTQ+ Asylum Seekers and “overcoming barriers for the LGBTQ+ community in physical activity”.
The 2022 World Cup officially kicked off in Qatar on November 20, beginning weeks of competition in the world's most popular sport. While beloved football stars took to the world stage to represent their countries, others, including the LGBTQ+ community and its allies had other issues at the forefront of their mind.
READ MORE: Liverpool footballer feels 'deep sadness' watching World Cup
LCR Pride Foundation and Sahir House believe the choice to host the World Cup in a country that “has one of the worst rankings in the world for LGBT+ rights and reports of serious human rights abuses of women and migrant workers has caused much conversation and upset for members of the community and allies”.
Andi Herring, CEO of LCR Pride Foundation, said: “Here in Liverpool and as an LGBT+ community regionally, nationally and internationally we love football, but we are faced with celebrating a sport we love and having to turn a blind eye to views that directly silence the right to be ourselves. With our friends at Sahir House, we have been listening to our community's concerns and we can’t let this year’s World Cup end without one last challenge.”
Homosexuality is currently illegal and is punishable with a jail sentence of up to seven years in this year’s host nation. Although there has been no record of it to this date, the country can also punish Muslim men with the death penalty for engaging in same-sex activity.
The organisations aren’t asking fans to boycott watching the game they love, but rather have given some easy actions that everyone can do to support the region’s LGBT+ community instead. These include displaying campaign materials if you work in a venue in the region, request a collection tin from LCR Pride to fundraise and donate towards LGBTQ+ causes locally.
Ant Hopkinson, CEO of Sahir House, added: “Together, we have launched our “F**k the World Cup'' campaign - a cheeky but much-needed call to action. We are calling for LGBT+ folk and our allies to make it clear that we are not ok with what’s playing out on and off the pitch in Qatar. We’re also calling for much-needed donations towards our support service for LGBT+ asylum seekers and refugees - many of whom have fled situations of homophobia, transphobia and other forms of sexual orientation and gender identity-based persecution.”
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