Transgender women banned from women’s football in England as FA explain reason why | Football | Sport

Transgender women have been banned from playing women’s football in England after the Football Association changed their policy in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling in April. The ban will be implemented from the first day of June.

Transgender women are currently allowed to play women’s football if they complete a form and send it to the FA as long as eligibility criteria are met. But the FA have decided to reassess their policy after the Supreme Court ruled that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex. The FA have called the matter a “complex subject” and have insisted they are contacting registered transgender women to help them “stay involved in the game”.

Explaining the decision in a statement, the FA said: “As the governing body of the national sport, our role is to make football accessible to as many people as possible, operating within the law and international football policy defined by UEFA and FIFA.

“Our current policy, which allows transgender women to participate in the women’s game, was based on this principle and supported by expert legal advice.

“This is a complex subject, and our position has always been that if there was a material change in law, science, or the operation of the policy in grassroots football then we would review it and change it if necessary.”

The statement continued: “The Supreme Court’s ruling on the 16 April means that we will be changing our policy.

“Transgender women will no longer be able to play in women’s football in England, and this policy will be implemented from 1 June 2025.

“We understand that this will be difficult for people who simply want to play the game they love in the gender by which they identify, and we are contacting the registered transgender women currently playing to explain the changes and how they can continue to stay involved in the game.”

Following the Supreme Court’s decision, prime minister Sir Kier Starmer said: “A woman is an adult female, and the court has made that absolutely clear.”

During a separate interview, he explained: “I welcome the court’s decision and ruling. I think it’s very important that we’ve now got real clarity, which is going to be really helpful for, I think, everybody going forward, particularly those that have to deal with putting in place guidance.

“And to reaffirm something that I long for, which is about safe spaces for women. That’s always been really important. And so that’s contained within the ruling as well. So I welcome all of it.”

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