A member of Three Lions Pride explains why they won’t be attending the World Cup this year

Robert*, 33, is part of Three Lions Pride, the official LGBT+ supporters’ group for the England national football team. The group serves to provide a safe, inclusive, and highly visible space for queer football fans and their allies.
However, this year they’ve decided not to attend the FIFA World Cup 2026, out of fears for their safety.

My first memory of football was Arsenal losing to Liverpool in the FA Cup Final in 2001. I was distraught. The following year, England lost to Brazil in the World Cup, and I still remember Ronaldinho lobbing the ball over David Seaman. For me, football was exciting, an emotional rollercoaster.  
Going to matches with my dad became a weekly ritual. He was a massive Arsenal fan so for me, if I was going to like football, it was Arsenal or nobody. The atmosphere was wonderful, electric. I would go to any match; I just wanted to watch football in any capacity.
When I was a teenager, I knew I was different, but I didn’t have the language to understand it. However, I was starting to understand that all the homophobic chants at the matches were directed at people like me. It made me feel like football didn’t like me. And as much as I loved football, it wasn’t a space where I could be myself – my two identities of being a massive football fan and being queer could never merge.
I had to choose between myself and football
After that, I stopped going to football matches and just watched from afar– I think all LGBT+ plus fans go through a period where they’ve felt as though they had to choose between being themselves and going to football.
Ahead of the Russia World Cup I decided to start Three Lions Pride with some friends. There were LGBTQI+ groups for club teams, but not for our national sides.
We started going to England games as a group and Three Lions Pride was born. It provided an opportunity to talk about issues we would face

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