Rainbow Laces
British LGBTQ sporting event
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rainbow Laces is a campaign by the LGBTQ charity Stonewall in support of LGBTQ people in British association football.[1] On a yearly basis, players were encouraged to show their support by wearing rainbow shoelaces provided by Stonewall. Since January 2026, the campaign has widened in focus to cover all sports over a more consistent and long-term time frame.
| Formation | 2013 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | London, with regional offices in Scotland and Wales |
Chief executive | Nancy Kelley |
| Website | stonewall |
History
Founded in 2013, the campaign began by sending out rainbow laces to every professional footballer in the UK for players to show their support. Paddy Power advocated for the cause from the start, teaming up with Stonewall in September, 2013.[2]
The campaign was criticised in its first year when Football v Homophobia claimed that Stonewall's language used during the campaign was the very language that they should be tackling and fighting against. Football v Homophobia felt that Stonewall was using slogans that reinforced the homophobia in football. Clubs such as Manchester United, who were big supporters of the cause, pulled out of the campaign whilst the disagreement was ongoing.[3]
The campaign has been promoted by the biggest sports in the world from men's and women's association football to wheelchair rugby. Stonewall had support from a group called TeamPride, which consists of Adidas, Aon, Aviva, Barclays, eBay, Manchester United, the Premier League, Sky Sports and Visa.[4] Captains could demonstrate their encouragement by replacing their original armband with a multicoloured version.[5]
In 2019, The Independent asked for more to be done in sport to support LGBTQ+ rights and commended the work that had been done by Stonewall so far.[6]
In 2020, Stonewall announced that they had sold nearly one million sets of laces across the campaign so far, with players of all sports wearing their laces from the top leagues to those who for fun. The message has been heavily demonstrated in football, with grassroots football being a huge advocate for the campaign.[7]
In 2021, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp displayed his support for the cause as Liverpool F.C. became a pioneer for Stonewall, and Klopp announced that there is an open dressing room within his team. He also ensured there will never be any issues with LGBTQ+ rights in the Liverpool dressing room.[8]
2026–present: Relaunch with widened focus
In January 2026, Stonewall relaunched the Rainbow Laces campaign, attempting to encompass a wider focus on all sports rather than solely football and to be a longer-term campaign rather than focussed on intermittent dates. In February, the Premier League announced that it would be ending its partnership with the Rainbow Laces campaign, instead launching a six-day 'Premier League With Pride' initiative involving LED advertising around stadiums and digital artwork. This was launched in partnership with national LGBTQ support line Switchboard.[9]