For the first time in Europe, an all-trans masculine football team, TRUK United FC Men, will make its debut on the pitch against supporters of Dulwich Hamlet FC on Trans Day of Visibility 2023. The TRUK United FC Women’s team will also play against Dulwich’s women’s team on the same day.
Arthur Webber, who will captain the TRUK United FC Men’s team, has been playing football since he was a child. He played for boys’ teams until he moved to secondary school where everything became sex-segregated. He then played for a women’s team for a couple of years before finding out what trans was.
The match comes at a time when the subject of trans inclusion in sport has been viciously weaponised, with many sporting bodies passing rules restricting trans participation in women’s events. The exclusion and discrimination that trans people, especially women, face made Arthur “nervous” to start playing football again.
TRUK United FC’s founder, Lucy Clark, hopes that the match will lead to more trans masculine people feeling like they can play football. She already knows she’s going to have the “biggest smile” and feel like a “proud parent” when she sees the team take to the pitch. Arthur hopes the match will inspire other trans clubs to open up across the country, maybe even creating a league for trans folk to come together to play football.
As for the players, joining TRUK United FC and finally being able to play on a football team that loves, supports, and affirms their identity is “priceless”, says Emmerdale star Ash Palmisciano, who will also take part in TRUK United FC’s historic trans masculine team match. The players will feel a sense of achievement, unity, and hopefully support as well. TRUK United FC Men’s first match is a historic moment for trans inclusion in sport, sending a powerful message of hope and inspiration to young trans people.
