Sheffield Wednesday FC Community Programme has been recognised with 1st place in the Football v Homophobia Awards for Football Club Community Foundation, celebrating their commitment to promoting inclusion and reducing discrimination. The award highlights their ongoing efforts in educating young people about LGBTQ+ topics through a series of workshops delivered in schools across Sheffield.

The workshops, led by SWFCCP's qualified team of community coaches, emphasised the importance of inclusion and helped educate young people on appropriate and inappropriate language, in order to reduce discriminatory behaviour.

In addition to the workshops, SWFCCP has worked closely with Rainbow Owls, the club's official LGBTQ+ Supporters Group, to embed LGBTQ+-friendly practices and inclusivity throughout their programme. Together, they have fostered a safe, welcoming environment for all participants.

It wasn’t just SWFCCP who took home an award on the night. Chris Ledger, founder of Rainbow Owls, won 2nd place in the FvH2025 Hero category for his outstanding work in organising key Rainbow Owls initiatives. This includes the recent Football v Transphobia matchday and an LGBTQ+ conference hosted at Hillsborough earlier this season.

By working together, SWFCCP and Rainbow Owls have made an incredible impact across projects such as Premier League Kicks, SAFE Mentoring, and Premier League Primary Stars, as well as within their own Community College, with post-16 students supporting the Rainbow Laces campaign alongside the SWFC first team.

Ben Winter, Deputy Head of Community at SWFC, said: "It’s a pleasure to have received this award for our work tackling homophobia through football. Our team has been the driving force in educating and empowering our communities across multiple projects and localities within Sheffield. A massive thank you to Chris Ledger at Rainbow Owls for the continued support and guidance for the club and community programme, ensuring that our provisions continue to strive for equality, allowing our communities' voices to be heard. We hope to build on this work in the near future, engaging more people and building further partnerships."

For more information, please contact: community@swfc.co.uk

1st Place at Football v Homophobia Awards!

Iftar 2025