As the 2026 FIFA World Cup draws to a close, we’d like to reflect on one of our biggest campaigns of the year.
While millions celebrated the football, we challenged FIFA over a simple question: why was it allowing national associations that ban gay footballers to compete at the world’s biggest sporting event?
11 countries competing at this World Cup criminalise homosexuality. In many of these countries, an openly gay footballer could face imprisonment, persecution or even death. No matter how talented they were, a gay footballer would be more likely to be jailed than selected for their national team.
That is not simply a wider human rights issue, it is direct discrimination within football and it is prohibited by FIFA’s own rules.
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So, on 15 June, the Peter Tatchell Foundation wrote to FIFA asking it to obtain written assurances from each of the 11 national football associations that gay players would be considered for selection solely on merit, regardless of their sexual orientation.
We also argued that any association unwilling to provide that assurance should be suspended or expelled under FIFA’s own anti-discrimination regulations.
Read our open letter to FIFA:The good news: FIFA replied.
The bad news: it failed to answer the central question.
It did not say whether it had asked any of the 11 football associations to confirm that openly gay players could represent their countries. Instead, it referred to general commitments to inclusion while avoiding the specific discrimination we had raised.
Rules only matter if they are enforced.
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Read our response to FIFA’s letter:The contradiction became even more glaring when Iran played Egypt in Seattle during Pride weekend.
The match was promoted locally as part of Seattle Pride celebrations. Yet both competing countries criminalise homosexuality and discriminate against LGBT+ footballers.
Pride branding is not a substitute for action.
That is why Peter Tatchell travelled to Seattle and staged a peaceful protest inside the stadium shortly after kick off.
Holding a simple placard reading:
“IRAN & EGYPT BAN GAY FOOTBALLERS. IT’S AGAINST FIFA RULES.”
Officials attempted to stop the protest and confiscate the placard. Peter resisted and the message was seen around the world.
Read about the Seattle protest:
Watch Peter’s posts from Seattle on X:…
The World Cup is now drawing to a close, but this campaign is not.
FIFA cannot continue celebrating diversity and inclusion while allowing national associations that discriminate against LGBT+ footballers to compete without consequence.
We will continue pressing FIFA to enforce its own anti-discrimination rules because football should be for everyone.
Finally, we want to say thank you.
Thank you to everyone who shared our posts, signed up to our campaign, commented, challenged FIFA, donated, and helped spread the message around the world. Every share, every comment and every donation – however small – helped put pressure on FIFA to answer questions it would rather have ignored.
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These campaigns matter, but they are also expensive to run. International campaigning, travel, media work and direct action all require resources.
If you value this work and would like to help us turbocharge this campaign, and many others, in the future, please consider making a donation today.
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