By Nicole Collins and Amy Britton
A Sheffield LGBTQ+ charity has voiced its support for a transgender football player who decided to leave her club due to hostility from other teams.
Francesca Needham released a statement on the Rossington Main Ladies FC Facebook page explaining her decision to step down from playing football. Several local football clubs had voiced their concerns and some had refused to play because of Miss Needham’s participation in the league.
She said: “I sincerely hope that this issue of perceived discrimination against me can be resolved peacefully and promptly.”
Miss Needham said she came to this conclusion after considering the well-being and success of her former teammates. She added: “This decision is rooted in the desire to safeguard the team and the club’s trajectory.”
SAYiT is Sheffield’s LGBTQ+ local charity which offers support to young people up to the age of 25. It offers counselling, parent and carer support groups, and provides education to schools through outreach programmes.
Chief executive officer, Heather Paterson, shared the charity’s view on the situation.
She said: “The whole narrative that trans women are taking over is complete nonsense.”
Miss Paterson suggested there was a hostile political agenda influencing sporting decisions, rather than legitimate sport science.
During the Conservative Party Conference, which was held in Manchester, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak claimed that the public is being “bullied” into believing that “people can be any sex they want to be.”
Miss Paterson said: “It’s easier for them to make this argument when it’s a contact sport, but we are seeing it in non-contact sports such as chess. This shows that there is political motivation.”
In August the International Chess Foundation temporarily banned transgender women from competing in female chess events.
And a week after Miss Needham left her football team, it was reported that Canadian cricketer Danielle McGahey would no longer be allowed to play the game, under new rules from the International Cricket Council.
“This isn’t the same problem because if anyone hit a cricket ball in your face, it’s probably going to knock your teeth out,” Miss Paterson said.
On 20 November, Transgender Day of Remembrance, a vigil was held in Sheffield City Centre’s Winter Gardens to allow Sheffield’s transgender community to share their stories and reflect on lives lost in the past 12 months.
Miss Paterson said she received two death threats on the same day last year.
“You shouldn’t normalise things like that but I’m so used to it,” she added.
