Gay Gooners
British LGBTQ supporters' group for Arsenal F.C.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Gay Gooners, occasionally stylised as GayGooners, are the official LGBTQ supporters' group for Arsenal F.C., a British association football club. Formed in February 2013, they are widely recognised as the first LGBTQ supporters' club in English football and have since grown to become one of the largest such groups worldwide, with more than 2,000 members as of 2024.[1] Their Bluesky account states that the group now has over 2,500 members, making them the world’s largest LGBTQ+ football fan group.[2]
The Gay Gooners at Pride in London 2025 | |
| Established | 2013 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Stewart Selby |
Co-chairs | Carl Fearn and Jacob Jefferson |
Parent organization | Arsenal F.C. |
| Website | arsenal |
The group was founded with the aim of fighting homophobia in football,[3] and functions as a social and community space for LGBTQ Arsenal fans to attend matches together and participate in club events.[4] The group works with organisations such as Rainbow Laces and Kick It Out, and have marched at Pride in London every year since 2013.[3][5]
Organisation and leadership
The Gay Gooners are run by a volunteer committee. As of 2025, the group’s co-chairs include long-standing member Carl Fearn and former campaigns manager Jacob Jefferson, both of whom have represented the group in Arsenal’s official LGBTQ+ programming.[6] Fearn has spoken publicly about the importance of visibility and belonging for LGBTQ supporters, including during Arsenal’s participation in Pride in London 2024.[7] Jefferson has highlighted how the group provides a safe space for LGBTQ fans to enjoy football without fear of discrimination.[8] In 2024, Gay Gooners co-chairs Carl Fearn and Jacob Jefferson were photographed with Arsenal captain Martin Ødegaard during the club’s LGBTQ+ inclusion activities.[9]
An oral history project published by London Metropolitan University in 2025 documented the experiences of LGBTQ Arsenal supporters, including Gay Gooners members, and described the group as the “world’s biggest LGBTQ+ football fan club”.[10]
History
According to Arsenal F.C., the Gay Gooners were founded in February 2013 by Stewart Selby.[11] Arsenal became the first major English football club to recognise a group of its kind that year.[12] Following this recognition, there was an increase in LGBTQ football fan groups that were officially recognised by their clubs.[13][12]
At the beginning of the 2013–14 season, Arsenal became the first football club in Europe to drape a rainbow banner over one of its stadium's hoardings.[3] By February 2015, they had 250 members and Arsenal was allowing the group space in their programme and other official channels to publicise their message. That month, the Gay Gooners played their own version of the north London derby by taking part in a five-a-side match against fellow prominent LGBTQ supporters' association for Tottenham Hotspur, the Proud Lilywhites. The match was officiated by Steffen Freund.[14]
As of 2017[update], actor and comedian Matt Lucas was a patron of the Gay Gooners.[15] By June 2018, the Gay Gooners had over 650 members,[5] and in March 2019, they had 775 members, of which 40% were women and 10% lived overseas, in some cases in countries were being gay was illegal.[3] Héctor Bellerín, a right-back for Arsenal, spoke with the group over a video call in 2020, noting that he had received homophobic abuse himself.[16] They had around 1,000 members by November 2021.[17]
On 23 February 2022, the group were awarded second place in the Football v Homophobia Supporters’ Group Award. The next day on the eve of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Gay Gooners members protested outside the Qatari embassy in London alongside LGBTQ rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, opposing the country's anti-LGBTQ policies.[18] Jen Beattie joined the group for Pride in London 2022.[19] As of 2023[update], the Gay Gooners had attended every Pride in London parade since 2013 according to co-chairman Carl Fearn. That year in June, they attended the march on an open-topped Routemaster bus. The Gay Gooners by this point had 1,600 members across 51 countries.[20]
In November 2025 when Arsenal ended an eight-year partnership with the Rwanda Development Board that had included the words "Visit Rwanda" on the team's kit sleeves, the Gay Gooners welcomed the decision, stating that they were "uncomfortable with the deal from the start and made signification representations to Arsenal through official channels since 2021."[21]
The Gay Gooners send a representative team to the annual Arsenal for Everyone tournament at the community hub.[22]
In 2025, the group’s visibility within Arsenal’s supporter culture was highlighted during Pride in London, where the Gay Gooners marched alongside a specially designed Arsenal Pride float. BRICKS Magazine described the group as playing “a vital role” in fostering belonging among LGBTQIA+ supporters, with co-chair Jacob Jefferson noting that the Gay Gooners banner being displayed at every home game signals that LGBTQ fans “belong here just as much as any other fan”.[23]
