LGBTQ+ football charity Kick It Out has shared that it received 203 reports of homophobia in the sport during 2025/26, which marks a 43 percent rise from the previous season.
The troubling statistics have prompted Football v Homophobia, a campaign group that was set up to fight discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in football, to issue an urgent call for action.
According to Kick It Out, the number of reports of homophobia in football during the 2025/26 season amounted to the total from the last four seasons combined.
The charity counts homophobia as everything from individual prejudice against certain players to homophobic and transphobic mass chanting from fans.
Alarmingly, the stats for youth football were even higher this season, and saw a 90 percent increase in reported incidents.
Racism remains the most reported form of discrimination, with 792 reports, up 19% year-on-year and making up 45% of the total.
Read the full statistics here.
