Brentford FC to Run LGBTQ+ Skills Sessions Again
In partnership with Chelsea, Fulham and West London Queer Project
Participants in last year's session at Gunnersbury Park
June 4, 2024
This summer will see the return of free football sessions for the LGBTQ+ community and allies to provide a safe space to enjoy playing football.
The sessions will be led by Brentford FC and the Brentford FC Community Sports Trust as well as West London Queer Project and new partners Chelsea Community Trust and Fulham FC Foundation. They are open to people of all abilities, whether they are completely new to football or returning to the game.
They will take place weekly from 6.30pm to 8.00pm at the Quintin Hogg Memorial Grounds, located on Hartington Road (South Side), Chiswick (W4 3UP) on the following dates throughout June and July on Thursdays.
• 6 June
• 13 June
• 20 June
• 27 June
• 4 July
• 11 July
The LGBTQ+ Skills Sessions first began in February 2023 as a special event to mark the month during LGBT+ History Month in 2023 at Gunnersbury Park.
After attracting many participants, the Trust has continued to regularly lead sessions in partnership with West London Queer Project engaging the LGBeeTs, Brentford’s fan group for the LGBTQ+ community as well as the community across west London.
Recently, an LGBTQ+ Skills Session was hosted at the Gtech Community Stadium where around 40 participants from the LGBTQ+ community were able to play football at Brentford’s stadium.
Luke Brooks-Smith, Head of Community Sport at Brentford FC Community Sports Trust said, "From the first ever LGBTQIA+ session we ran in February 2023 which had over 50 people attend, this partnership has continued to go from strength to strength. It’s important to us as a Community Sports Trust and Football Club to run these sorts of initiatives with the LGBeeTs, and with the West London Queer Project. "These sessions help to unite our local community and hopefully it also introduces some new fans to Brentford and helps people to feel included in football and valued.
"This initiative represents a significant step towards creating a more inclusive and welcoming environment in football. We are thrilled to partner with Brentford FC, Chelsea Community Trust, and Fulham FC, to provide these sessions and look forward to receiving feedback from our participants to help shape future programs," said Aubrey Crawley, founder of the West London Queer Project. "Football should be accessible to everyone, and through these sessions, we aim to ensure that every member of the LGBTQ+ community feels valued and included."
The sessions aim to provide a safe space for all to play football
To attend the free sessions, participants can sign up via the registration form.
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |