Reds show their colours for Rainbow Laces
Liverpool Football Club will again lend its support to Stonewall's Rainbow Laces campaign when Chelsea visit Anfield on Saturday.
The Rainbow Laces campaign, which runs from November 24 to December 3, will see national teams, leading clubs, top athletes, fans and grassroots players from across sport show their support for the LGBT community. It aims to make sport everyone's game and ensure that LGBT people feel welcome and included.
To show our support to the campaign, Liverpool's captain for the Chelsea game will wear a rainbow armband, there will be Premier League bespoke rainbow branded ball plinths, pitch flags, handshake and timing boards, an article in the matchday programme, LED boards and a rainbow flag will be carried onto the pitch before kick-off by Red Neighbours’ local school children.
Prior to kick-off, Merseyside Police will have a hate crime stand situated in the LFC Fan Zone - Paisley Square staffed by a small number of police officers and cadets, and Paul Amann, Founder of the LGBT Fan Group Kop Outs, will be interviewed live on stage in LFC’s Fan Zone - Paisley Square at approximately 3:45pm GMT about Rainbow Laces and Kop Outs. Members of the Kop Outs and Mersey Marauders FC will also be handing out rainbow laces to fans outside the stadium before kick-off.
Simon Thornton, equality and diversity Officer at Liverpool FC, commented: “We are proud to be supporting the Rainbow Laces campaign again this year and helping to promote inclusion, equality and diversity in sport. This is something that the Club is really passionate about and continues to work hard at making advances in.”
Kop Outs founder Amann added: "Having the club and our captain supporting the Rainbow Laces campaign gives our anthem real meaning for LGBT people, and helps LGBT people be valued as part of the LFC family."
For more information on the Rainbow Laces campaign, please click here.