An LGBTQ+ group has been applauded for helping people through “dark times” in their lives.
On the face of it, Rover and Out are the LGBTQ+ and allies supporters group of Tranmere Rovers FC. However, those involved with the group have said it is much more than that and in fact, is a safe space where “football fans turn into a family”.
The group was founded by Adam Siddon in 2018. The 32-year-old, from Birkenhead, saw what positive impact the likes of The Rainbow Toffees and Kop Outs - Everton and Liverpool’s LGBTQ+ supporters group perspective - were having and wanted to replicate something similar for his own club.
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The Martin Gallier Project suicide prevention worker told the ECHO: “Football has played a huge part in my life. I’ve always known I’ve been gay from a young age and from when I was going to football grounds to watch the Tranmere Rovers. But, there were never any groups about for me. Absolutely nothing.
“As I started to see other groups set up LGBTQ+ supporters group, no one seemed to want to do it at Tranmere, even though I knew there were other queer fans. So I thought, if no one else was going to do it, it’d do it myself.”
Since its inception, it has seen members come and go but two current members told the ECHO how they owed a lot to the group after it supported them when they needed it the most.
James Eyres, from Wallasey, has been involved with Rover and Out for just over half a decade now. The support worker has enjoyed playing striker for the team and getting involved in eradicating hate and homophobia within the sport - despite not being queer himself.
The 34-year-old’s support for the LGBTQ+ community was repaid to him last year after he lost his dad, Peter, in May.
He said: “The group, without doing anything out of the ordinary, were just there for me and helped me so much. It’s hard to put into words really how much they helped me but knowing I could message anyone and them being there for me on a bad day was amazing.
“The support goes beyond just the pitch and it goes a long way. It helped me through the worst part of my life. The club has become like a family for me.”
As well as taking part in LGBTQ+ campaigns, one scheme Rover and Out offer is a buddy service which allows those from the community to be partnered up and attend football matches without fear of judgement.
It is because of this service that Deborah Johnston was able to fall back in love with the sport she grew up watching.
The 54-year-old, from Birkenhead, lived “400 yards away” from Tranmere Rovers ground, Prenton Park, as a child and attended games regularly. Deborah’s dad took her to her first game when she was six.
However, when she started to live her life authentically - as a trans woman - she believed there wasn’t a place for her within football. That was until the parent-of-four found Rovers and Out and had a “weight lifted” off her shoulders.
She said: “I stopped going to football games for a while because I was worried after I had come out as transgender. 15 years ago, there was a lot of homophobic and transphobic abuse being thrown around and I knew I didn’t want to put myself through that. It was sad at the time not to be able to watch a sport I had followed my whole life.”
Deborah appreciates sport has a long way to go to eradicate all forms of hate but acknowledges it has improved since she was a teenage fan.
The truck driver added: “I used to hear scare stories growing up about the community and it made me hide who I was because I didn’t know anyone else who was like me. There were no role models, there was no representation on TV and it made me suppress my feelings.
“It’s not been a bed of roses for me, I’ve had a few instances of transphobia but now I don’t wake up in the morning hating myself. I feel more comfortable, I feel a lot better and most importantly, I feel like me.
“When I heard about the football group, it put me at ease. There are a lot more people like me in football now - people are a lot more visible and open these days. It’s been great being able to fall back in love with football."
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