Melbourne City teamed up with over 200,000 Australians wearing #RainbowLaces during the Rainbow Round of Sport from April 6-9 on Friday night.
The #RainbowLaces campaign is conducted annually by Pride in Sport, a sporting inclusion program for national and state sporting organisations and clubs.
The aim of the campaign is to bring the issues around LGBTI prejudice in sport to the attention of the broader community.
The extent of LGBTI prejudice in sport was evident in a 2015 global study entitled Out on the Fields which showed that 80% of all respondents and 82% of LGB respondents had witnessed or experienced homophobia in sport, and 73% believed that youth team sport was not safe and welcoming for LGB people.
Melbourne City FC joined fellow professional clubs including North Queensland Cowboys, Penrith Panthers, Essendon Bombers, GWS Giants, Sydney FC, Western Sydney Wanderers and ACT Brumbies in wearing #RainbowLaces during the Rainbow Round of Sport.
City has also previously supported the MidSumma Festival each year in Melbourne, has run clinics for Melbourne Rovers and had ‘Proud to Play’ speak at the Club’s City in the Community Network on inclusion.
City midfielder Luke Brattan donned the #RainbowLaces in support of the round in Friday’s 1-0 win over Adelaide United at AAMI Park.
