Educational workshops delivered to mark LGBTQ+ History Month

February marks LGBTQ+ History Month and to help support the occasion Leeds United Football Club, the Leeds United Foundation and Leeds United Academy have been working hard to deliver various educational workshops.

Training sessions with Stonewall, the charity that campaigns for the equality of the LGBTQ+ community across Britain, have been delivered to full-time and part-time staff from across a number departments at the club. Whilst youngsters and parents from the Leeds United Academy have also been involved in a number of sessions, including those from the Under-18 and Under-23 squads, with the help of the Leeds United LGBTQ+ supporter group, Marching Out Together.

Participation from all areas of the club has shown a level of dedication from staff to further educate themselves around the topic, showing the strides that are being taken as an organisation to be a real ally for the LGBTQ+ community, both local and worldwide.

As part of the activity to celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month, the club’s official charity has also been working with local schools, through the Premier League Primary Stars programme, to deliver a number of workshops based around the topic of equality to young students across the city.

Delivered virtually through Zoom, coaches from the Leeds United Foundation have put together a special presentation that looks at the subject of stereotyping and breaks down what is important for youngsters to be aware of whilst they are growing up with regards to the LGBTQ+ community, including taking into account words that can be hurtful and how your words can affect the mental health of others. We are all humans and that is the most important thing to remember when thinking about the different choices we all make day to day.

As part of the educational sessions, the coaches also hosted Q and A sessions to allow the young pupils to ask any questions, ensuring they all felt comfortable enough to be inquisitive and speak openly about the topic that they may have previously been too afraid to speak about.