- Campaigners had called for FA to ban transgender players from women’s sport
- There are no professional transgender players – but 20 at amateur level
- LISTEN NOW: It’s All Kicking Off! Chris Sutton and Ian Ladyman debate the manager of the season awards… who is the best and worst?
The FA have refused to ban transgender footballers from playing in the women’s game despite new rules being introduced.
Transgender participation has rocked the world of sport in recent months, such as with Harriet Haynes defeating Lucy Smith 8-6 in the final of a Women’s Pro Series pool event, with both players being trans.
In America, meanwhile, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton launched an investigation into USA Fencing over the disqualification of a female participant who refused to compete against a transgender opponent.
Additionally, the governing body for US college sports, the NCAA, banned transgender women from competing in women’s sports earlier this year.
New rules state that players could be judged on a case by case basis, with ‘safety to competitors’ and ‘fairness’ considered.
Trans players are not, though, banned from taking part in competitive women’s football in the country.
The FA have refused to ban transgender players in new rules that will come into play in April
The new FA rules state: ‘Where there is an issue about a player’s eligibility, efforts will always be made to resolve it through dialogue between the player, the county FA and the FA.
‘In any case where (1) the FA does not approve a player’s application to participate in matches in the women’s game following a match observation, or (2) the FA reasonably considers on the ground of (A) safety to competitors and/or (B) fairness of competition that it might be necessary to withdraw a player’s eligibility to participate in matches in the women’s game having previously granted such eligibility under this policy, the player or the FA may refer the matter to the FA’s Transgender and Non-Binary Eligibility Committee for determination.’
The new rules come in to play on April 1 and allow transgender women to feature in amateur competitions if they have had reduced testosterone levels for at least a year.
20 transgender women are currently registered to play amateur football in England, and they can continue to do so if their testosterone levels have been below 5nmol per litre for at least 12 months.
There are currently no transgender women playing professionally in England, and the FA will seek advice from Fifa if that changes. Fifa’s policy also surrounds testosterone levels and does not ban the players.
The move comes after pressure from campaigners for football to follow the rules of other sports. In November, a group protested the rules outside Wembley after a 17-year-old girl was banned for two matches after repeatedly asking a transgender opponent: ‘Are you a man?’
Mark Bullingham, FA chief executive, defended the policy last month, but did not rule out ‘refining’ the rules.
