What does it mean to find your place in football when you’re LGBTQIA+?

In this episode of The Proudcast, we explore queer experiences across the game — from playing and supporting, to storytelling, creativity and creating more inclusive football communities.

Hosted by film and video director John Reavey, the conversation brings together:

- Jess Birtles, player/coach of Sheffield Wednesday Ladies FC

- David Mooney, creator and host of the FSA award-winning Blue Moon Podcast

- James Fox Neville, football illustrator and trustee of Manchester Laces

- Callum Prince, EDI advocate and Nottingham Lions player

Together, they talk about their relationship with football, the importance of LGBTQIA+ representation, the spaces where queer people are building their own communities within the game, and what genuine inclusion looks like beyond campaigns and rainbow branding.

They also explore the joy of finding people who share both your identity and your love of football and why creating a game where everyone feels able to belong benefits football as a whole.

Because football can be so much more than what happens on the pitch.

🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.

The Proudcast is the podcast from Proud Changemakers, sharing conversations with people working to create a more equitable world for LGBTQIA+ communities.

This podcast was recorded in partnership with Rainbow Owls and Football vs Homophobia. It was recorded in front of a live audience at the Rainbow Owls Conference 2025. Thanks to Chris at Rainbow Owls for his support and patience.

🎙️ Proudcast – Episode Title: How to be a cis ally
Hosted by: Catherine Goodall (she/her), Heather Paterson (she/her), Paige Hughes (she/her), and Luca Straker (they/them)

In this episode of Proudcast, we’re diving into what it really means to be a good cis ally to the trans and non-binary community. Whether you’re new to allyship or looking to deepen your activism, we share practical ways to stand in solidarity – from writing to your MP to showing up in your everyday life.

We also discuss the recent EHRC consultation, unpacking how it relates to the UK Supreme Court’s ruling and what it means for trans rights in the current political landscape.

Paige introduces her brilliant new t-shirt campaign Me&T, which is all about visibility, support, and funding vital trans-led work.
Heather shares some personal reflections on identity through her music and how creativity can be a powerful tool for connection and advocacy.
Catherine and Luca join the group in highlighting everyday ways cis people can show up – from calling out transphobia to amplifying trans voices.

🏳️‍⚧️ This is a must-listen for anyone who wants to do more than just say they’re an ally. Let’s move beyond performative gestures and into active, informed solidarity.

🔗 Links & Resources

• Respond to the EHRC consultation - link

• Support the Me&T campaign: link

  Heather's Gladlaw fundraiser - link

• Write to your MP: link

• More about Proudcast: link

💬 Join the conversation on Instagram, Bluesky, and LinkedIn – we’d love to hear what allyship means to you.

#Proudcast #TransRightsAreHumanRights #CisAlly #MeAndT #LGBTQIA #TransAllyship #EHRC #QueerPodcast

In this powerful and moving episode, we sit down with Vicky Laylor (she/her), a Black trans woman, as she shares her deeply personal journey of self-discovery, faith, and resilience.

Raised in a Christian household, Vicky opens up about the challenges of growing up in an environment where her true self didn’t feel visible or understood. She speaks candidly about coming to understand she was trans later in life, the emotional and social hurdles she faced, and the joy and liberation that came with embracing her identity.

This conversation, hosted by Fiona Moorcroft from SAYiT — a Sheffield-based LGBTQIA+ youth charity — explores themes of identity, religion, community, and the importance of living authentically.

💬 Expect thoughtful reflections, moments of humour, and an inspiring perspective on what it means to live as your full self — even when the journey takes time.

🔗 Links and Resources:

• Learn more about SAYiT

• Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn and Bluesky, or visit our website

• Subscribe and leave a review if you enjoy the episode!

Just a heads-up: the views shared by our podcast guests are their own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Proud Changemakers.

If anything in the episode brings up something for you, feel free to check out our signposting page, where you’ll find a list of helpful support resources.

In this episode, we sit down with Khakan Qureshi, a trailblazing LGBTQ+ activist, writer and founder of Finding A Voice, a support group for South Asian LGBTQ+ individuals. Khakan has been a vocal advocate for intersectionality, visibility, and community support, particularly for older LGBTQ+ people and those from culturally diverse backgrounds.

We discuss his journey as an activist, the challenges of navigating identity within South Asian and Muslim communities, and the importance of creating safe spaces for queer people of colour. Khakan shares insights from his own experiences, the progress he’s seen over the years, and what still needs to change to make the world more inclusive for all.

Join us for this powerful conversation about resilience, representation, and the ongoing fight for equality.

Got a question or topic? get it touch at [email protected]

Find out more about us at www.proudchangemakers.org

Is progress inevitable or is it something we have to fight for? In our latest LGBTQ+ History Month episode we look at the history of queer activism and the role played by trade unions. Plus we discuss how we can use this history to prepare us for the current climate of anti-LGBTQIA+ rhetoric that is growing in our society.

We are joined by our chair Heather Paterson (she/her) - who has marched for many an LGBTQIA+ right in her lifetime - and Dave Pike (he/him) - who is part of the National Education Union. Our host is Fiona Moorcroft (she/her).

This episode was produced in partnership with SAYiT - an LGBTQIA+ youth charity from South Yorkshire as part of their LGBTQ+ History Month activities.

Get in touch with us at Proud Changemakers through our website or by email.

In partnership with our supporter, SAYiT (an LGBTQ+ youth charity in South Yorkshire), we talked to Jennifer van Gessel, an Australian writer and producer, who is writing a gothic film about Anne Lister called 'Langton'.

The film is still in pre-production so instead we delved into her knowledge about Anne Lister's diaries - as she has done a lot of research for the film!

Whether you are an Anne Lister super nerd or just starting your Anne adventure, jump into this episode and hear about her many escapades and the types of timeframes that Jennifer is looking to for her upcoming film.

This episode was created as part of 2025's LGBTQ+ History Month and was hosted by Fiona Moorcroft (she/her) from SAYiT.

Got a question, theme or guest to suggest for the podcast? Get in touch at [email protected] or head to our website www.proudchangemakers.org.

Want to connect with Jennifer van Gessel?

• IMDb - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2623046/
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jenniferislost/
• Twitter - https://x.com/jenniferislost?lang=en

Interview with Dr. Surabhi Shukla on Intersex rights in India

In this bonus episode of Proud Changemakers, we sit down with Dr. Surabhi Shukla to discuss a groundbreaking case on intersex rights in India. Dr. Shukla is a legal scholar whose research examines the intersection of law, gender, and human rights.

Why This Matters

Tune in to hear Dr. Shukla’s insights on what this case means for intersex rights, legal protections, and the fight for gender justice in India.

And read her blog on this case at: lawandsexuality.com

Follow Proud Changemakers on Bluesky, LinkedIn and Instagram or visit our website proudchangemakers.org for more discussions on LGBTQIA+ history, representation, and activism.

If you would like to discuss this or any other topic for our podcast please contact us at [email protected]

Come and say hi to our first ever Trustees! As we move towards registering as a charity, we have been busy finding and bringing together our Board of Trustees.

And we are so excited for you to meet them all because we have such an amazing bunch of talented humans who are all so passionate about our mission of celebrating and elevating LGBTQIA+ people and stories.

This episode is hosted by Suneet Sharma (he/him) our Deputy CEO of Governance. And Suneet talks to our four new trustees:

And because we have now launched our brand new website - www.proudchangemakers.org - you can find our Trustees on there too.

If you would like to suggest a topic or guest to come on our podcast please email us at [email protected].

We gather together our leadership team - Luca Straker (they/them), Suneet Sharma (he/him), Graysen Whittaker (he/they), Catherine Goodall (she/her) and Paige Hughes (she/her) - to reflect on our first full year as a group and as a podcast.

We share our learnings, our highlights and what topics we'd like to cover in 2025!

Plus we've got our new intro music.

If you would like to suggest a topic, be on the pod talking about your passion or would like to send us your reflections on the year then you can reach us at [email protected].

Thank you to you all for listening and we hope you've had a good year too.

We recorded a very interesting panel discussion on how to tackle homophobia in football at a conference by Rainbow Owls - Sheffield Wednesday's LGBTQIA+ supporters group.

The panel was hosted by Ollie Mitchell (he/him) – the head of sport at Forge Radio; and the panellists were Joe White (they/them), co-founder of Three Lions Pride – the LGBTQIA+ fans group for the England national football teams; Kian Ward (he/him), media coordinator for Dulwich Hamlet FC; Kirsty Tonner (she/her), Goalkeeper for Sheffield Wednesday Ladies and referee and influencer Mikey Connor (he/him).

This was all recorded in support of Stonewall’s Rainbow