In what is the tenth year of Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces campaign, Wolves will show their support at this Tuesday’s game with Burnley under the Molineux lights.
The 2023 message is ‘Let’s Lace Up to Keep It Up’ and this week’s round of fixtures will see Premier League clubs support the initiative, with Rainbow Laces Day landing on Wednesday 6th December.
Wolves work closely with the Premier League to celebrate and promote LGBTQ+ inclusion all year round, with policies and practices constantly evolving, and are a club which embraces and supports the diversity of its community.
Progress has been made, but there are still ways to do more for LGBTQ+ people to feel truly represented and included in the game we all love, which is a constant target for the club.
In June this year, Wolverhampton Pride returned to the city and Wolves were represented, with the ‘Festival for Everyone’ celebrating equality and diversity in the City of Wolverhampton.
Pride celebrates lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) social and self-acceptance, achievements, legal rights, as well as liberation and pride. It is also an opportunity for anyone and everyone to come together to be a positive ally in love, friendship and unity.
Now, the dedicated match rounds, across this midweek and last weekend, give Wolves and all Premier League clubs the opportunity to assess the progress made in LGBTQ+ inclusion over the last decade and highlight the ongoing work to promote inclusion, showing football is welcoming to all.
At tomorrow’s game with the Clarets, the handshake boards, ball plinth, LED advertising and substitute’s board will be dedicated to the campaign, while rainbow laces, captain’s armbands and pin badges will be on show.
Inside the Fan Zone at the Wanderers Car Park pre-match, rainbow laces will be handed out to supporters, who can also pose inside the special Rainbow Laces photo frame.
Stonewall’s advice is to communicate your commitment to LGBTQ+ inclusion in your environment and challenge any bullying and discriminatory language.
Zoe Brough, human resources director, said: “Here at Wolves, we’re extremely proud of the diversity within our staff, playing squads and fan base and the Rainbow Laces campaign is an opportunity, like we do each year during One Pack Week, to celebrate that.
“We saw during the summer, with our representation at Wolverhampton and Birmingham Pride, how integrated the football club is within the community, which is beneficial when it comes to promoting and supporting Stonewall’s important message.
“As we move into 2024 over the next month, we’ll continue to promote equality and diversity in everything that we do, and create an inclusive atmosphere inside our stadium, place of work and without our pack overall.
“We ask our supporters and staff to adopt the same approach when representing Wolves, and throughout their daily lives, by communicating their commitment to equality and diversity and challenging anything which contradicts that important message.”
