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Supporters groups for all 14 NWSL teams, as well as the forthcoming Boston Legacy FC, have launched a new campaign aimed at supporting the trans community in the sport and standing "firmly and vocally, together, for inclusion."
On the morning of May 2, supporters groups for all 14 NWSL teams as well as Boston Legacy FC, which will start playing in the league in 2026, posted a shared statement on social media "taking a vocal and visible stand in support of the transgender community and against all gender-based harassment."
"Women's soccer exists because society refused to accept exclusion. Our game was built through generations of struggle – for gender equity, LGBTQ+ rights, and racial justice," the statement reads. "Efforts to exclude trans athletes are fueled by the same forces of misogyny and bigotry that have long tried to dictate who belongs. These efforts undermine the spirit of women's sports and harm all athletes by reinforcing narrow, discriminatory ideas about gender."
"Now, as the trans community faces escalating attacks driven by harmful legislation and damaging public rhetoric, we must continue that fight by standing firmly and vocally, together, for inclusion in sports," it continues. "It is on all of us to ensure that every match, every event, and every space under the league's banner remains safe, inclusive, and free from hate – for everyone."
People looking to support the campaign can purchase a "Trans People Belong" shirt online, with proceeds benefitting the Transgender Law Center.
The campaign will also feature "in-stadium displays featuring the campaign slogan" and use of the social media hashtag #TransPeopleBelong, per
ProSoccerWire.
"It's both saddening and enraging to see people use women's sports, something I love, as a vehicle for transphobia, and it is really important to me that trans athletes and fans know that they are welcome in the NWSL," Lindsay Pankok, board member of Gotham FC's Cloud 9 supporters group, told PRIDE. "This league is not only entertainment, it's a community, and the trans community has been an important part of it from the beginning. Trans people belong not only on the field but in the stands, on coaching staffs, in front offices – in all aspects of the game. It is my hope that the NWSL will join with its supporters in uplifting the message that trans people belong in our league."
A league spokesperson said, "The NWSL strives to be the most inclusive league in the world, and we continue to support our athletes and create an environment where they can thrive."
The Trans People Belong campaign comes on the heels of England's Football Association (FA) announcing on May 1 that, starting June 1, transgender women are no longer to play women's soccer in England.
There are fewer than 30 trans women registered to play among millions of amateur players in the country, and zero registered to play on the pro level, the BBC reports.
The FA's decision, in turn, comes following a U.K. Supreme Court ruling in April that said legal womanhood is "limited to biological women and does not include trans women." The term "biological woman" is used here to mean cisgender women.
This ruling defines sex as a binary, "a person is either a woman or a man," and says that a government-issued gender recognition certificate does not qualify one to be covered by the country's Equality Act.
The NWSL campaign also follows an incident at a March NY/NJ Gotham FC - Orlando Pride match when a fan reported that "mulitiple Gotham season ticket holders expressed bigotry towards Barbra Banda that stemmed from the racist, transphobic conspiracies that were spread about her after she earned the BBC Women's Footballer of the Year award last year."
Gotham FC, Orlando Pride, and the NWSL issued statements condemning the behavior. Gotham FC conducted an investigation and ended up revoking a fan's season tickets and banning them from future events and matches.
Currently, the NWSL's Policy on Transgender Athletes allows all people "designated female at birth, regardless of their gender identity or gender expression," even if they take a low dose of testosterone, as long as their total testosterone level is "within typical limits of women athletes."
For trans women, athletes must meet several standards, including declaring "that her gender identity is female," having total testosterone levels "within typical limits of women athletes," for at least 12 months prior to competition, and that their total testosterone level remains in that range for their period of desired eligibility.
