Future of Football: Will we see the Premier League's first out gay footballer in the next 10 to 20 years?

As part of Sky Sports News' Future of Football project, we look at the likelihood of the Premier League seeing its first out gay footballer in the next 10 to 20 years; Blackpool's Jake Daniels, Sports Media LGBT+ founder Jon Holmes and Stonewall's Liz Ward give their insight

Senior football journalist

Friday 4 August 2023 06:04, UK

In the UK, LGBTQ+ rights have come a long way in a relatively short space of time.

It was only in 1967 that homosexuality was partially decriminalised in England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland followed in 1981 and 1982 — just over 40 years ago.

Since then, we have seen openly lesbian, gay, bi, trans and queer people in most areas of public life.

British sport has a range of LGBTQ+ representation across the overall spectrum. Some of the most visible members of the community include Olympian Tom Daley, boxer Nicola Adams and former Wales international rugby player Gareth Thomas.

But football continues to provide a paradox, as do several other team sports such as rugby and cricket.

In women's sport, LGBTQ+ people are widely embraced and celebrated. Inclusion is woven into the fabric of what makes these sports special.

In football, for example, there have been close to 100 players taking part in the Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand who are publicly out. That group includes Canada international Quinn, who is the first openly trans non-binary person to play in the tournament.

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However, in men's team sports — and football in particular — there is