Dutch football association: ‘Nothing queer’ about being gay

BY NATASHA BARSOTTI — “Gay? There’s nothing queer about it,” according to a video sponsored by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB), the sport’s governing body in the Netherlands.

The association is urging players to come out.

“Football players have no role models in Holland because there are no openly gay Dutch players,” Marloes van der Laan, KNVB’s press officer, says.

The association is also rolling out an action plan called “Football for Everyone,” which focuses on educating trainers, coaches and referees and will also target schools.

Check out the KNVB’s endearing video featuring a player trapped inside a closet.

Landing image: Royal Dutch Football Association

Video: Royal Dutch Football Association

Natasha Barsotti is originally from Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean. She had high aspirations of representing her country in Olympic Games sprint events, but after a while the firing of the starting gun proved too much for her nerves. So she went off to university instead. Her first professional love has always been journalism. After pursuing a Master of Journalism at UBC , she began freelancing at Xtra West — now Xtra Vancouver — in 2006, becoming a full-time reporter there in 2008.

Keep Reading

The new generation of gay Conservative sellouts

OPINION: Melissa Lantsman’s and Eric Duncan’s refusals to call out their party’s transphobia is a betrayal of the LGBTQ2S+ community

Over 300 anti-LGBTQ2S+ bills have been introduced this year. This doesn’t mean we should panic

OPINION: While it’s important to watch out for threats, not all threats are created equally. Some of these bills will die a natural death

Xtra’s top LGBTQ2S+ stories of the year

The best and brightest—even most bewildering—stories from a back catalogue brimming with insight

Elon Musk and Texas attorney general Ken Paxton are suing Media Matters. Here’s why queer and trans people should care

OPINION: When politicians and the rich leverage the power of the state to quell dissent, we all lose