Football is a sport that’s easy to love, and it attracts fans from all backgrounds and cultures.

As Brentford strives to make football more inclusive for everyone, more fan groups have emerged, such as the LGBeeTs.

The group is a dedicated supporters group for Brentford fans from the LGBTQIA+ community. They aim “for all fans to be able to support and follow Brentford FC home and away safely, without fear, and without hearing homophobic, biphobic or transphobic abuse.”

Formed in August 2016, the LGBeeTs was co-founded by long-term Bees fan Gemma Teale, who has supported Brentford since she was a football-mad 14-year-old, brought along to a game by a friend’s parents. She became a season ticket holder in 2001. 

Before establishing the LGBeeTs, Gemma was already working with BIAS, the Football Supporters’ Association and meeting other fan groups, and football fans in the LGBTQIA+ community. Through this football community, she was encouraged to start an LGBTQIA+ Bees supporters group. 

“Brentford on the whole has always had a friendlier vibe than a lot of other clubs," says Gemma.

"Since I’ve been going, the club has been one of the better places to be.

"Even so, I resisted it for a long time, partly because it sounded like a lot of work, but I was also scared, to be honest. I didn’t feel confident standing up and saying ‘here I am’ and exposing myself to whatever criticism or backlash might come

“Brentford is like family, the worry of risking that made me nervous. But eventually, I decided to set up a Twitter account and put something out there to see if anyone responded.” 

‘Wow, I thought I was the only one’ 

The response to the group has been positive. Gemma received many messages of support from other fan groups, high-profile fans and the club. But the most important messages were from Brentford’s LGBTQIA+ fans, who felt seen. 

Gemma says: “We had individuals private messaging us saying, ‘Wow, I thought I was the only one’ and there were quite a few of these messages.

"That made me realise there’s something important about this group. There are many fans who love Brentford but think, ‘Everyone here is different to me and I’m the only one here out of place.’” 

For Gemma, this was a powerful realisation that she was helping fans recognise that there were other Brentford supporters who identify as LGBTQIA+.

Knowing you’re not alone

The group includes members from all parts of the UK and across the world.

While the LGBeeTs run many social events, their support comes in different forms and takes a flexible approach.

Supporters can get involved by engaging with the club, meeting travelling fans and joining events, including some recent collaborations with the Brentford FC Community Trust and the West London Queer Project. 

Fans are invited to take part in various activities as they please, but Gemma stresses the group’s main objective is to make the LGBTQIA+ community feel supported: “We have lots of things coming up that people can engage with, but even if you don’t want to get involved just the sight of a flag is a sign that you are welcome, you aren’t alone and hopefully goes some way to helping people not have to think twice about bringing a family member or friend along to watch football.”

There has been a lot of progress and above all, Gemma believes the engagement between the LGBTQIA+ community and football is getting better.

Yet she knows there is still room for a lot of improvement in dealing with negative reactions which do still happen, getting fans involved in advising the club directly, and also thinking about ways to engage new people. 

Join the LGBeeTs

To join the LGBeeTs, sign up at lgbeetbrentford.co.uk or get in touch by email at [email protected]. You can also follow the group on Instagram and Twitter. 

Want to try playing football?

To mark LGBT+ History Month, Brentford FC, Brentford FC Community Sports Trust, LGBeeTS and the West London Queer project will be holding a football skill session on 16 February (6.30-8.30pm). 

The session is perfect for those who are interested in trying football and is open to the LGBTQIA+ community and allies. Find out more about the session.