2013 F4P v Homophobia, in support of the Justin Campaign

On the 1st of May, for the second year running, The University of Brighton hosted the F4P v Homophobia Festival in support of the Justin Campaign.

Students volunteering for F4P ran the event, which followed the F4P festival format. Therefore, in addition to the match score, teams scored points through the extent to which the way they played reflected the F4P fair play values.

Teams were entered from both staff and students and followed a fancy dress theme to highlight the importance of equality on the pitch and the spirit of tolerance and respect.

The Justin Campaign seeks to teach people about the life of Justin Fashanu, who was the first professional footballer in the UK to come out as being gay. He was heckled by the media, lost support from his club and family and tragically committed suicide on the 2nd May 1998.

Only a handful of footballers have come out since, with the most recent in the UK being Robbie Rogers of Leeds Utd. At the same time he gave up his professional career in football because of the stigma within the soccer world.

Click here to visit the Justin Campaign blog