How FA’s new transgender policy is affecting players

Billie Sky has just promoted her team, but she is no longer able to play for them.

Sky is one of 28 transgender women who are prohibited from playing FA-affiliated women’s football and are one of 28 registered for amateur football with the Football Association in England.

The governing body of English football announced that only those who were born biologically female will be able to play women’s football starting on June 1st, in accordance with the UK Supreme Court’s ruling from April 16 that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex.

Due to the ruling, Sky must no longer play competitive 11-a-side football for one of her teams, the London Galaxy. Due to the new policy, Goal Diggers FC, which the club has exited from all FA-affiliated leagues, will still allow her to play informally for her other team.

“I just took part in a season with London Galaxy and helped them earn promotion,” she told BBB Sport. “Now I can’t play with them, which is really sad. I put a lot of commitment into that club.

What should I do, exactly? Play with the men, then? because I don’t feel secure there. And I’m wanted by my team-mates in full.

BBB Sport approached a number of grassroots footballers who support the ban.

One football player, who plays in the sixth tier of the women’s game, was willing to provide an anonymous voice to the media while the majority of people did not want to disclose their opinions because they were afraid of reprisals.

Georgie (not her real name) believes that the FA’s new policy “protects the integrity of women’s football,” something we have worked for a long time to achieve.

When Sky, a devoted football fan, first started to transition, she had given up on the sport when she was offered the opportunity to join Goal Diggers FC, a club with a London footprint.

“I believe that this is where I spent my first life, when I didn’t consider myself trans or different or weird or whatever. The 28-year-old said, “I just felt like another person here.”

I discovered and adored the community. And that’s how I’ve lived ever since. My main trait is that I am a football player.

Sky, who first admitted to being transgender four years ago, claimed she “had a feeling” the ban was about to come.

She said, “It does feel frightful.” My safety net seems to have just been taken away, in my opinion.

As I’ve grown more confident on the field, I’ve become more confident as a person, and I felt like there was a real empowering nature to playing football for me. And I worry about squandering some of the chance to carry that story.”

The FA has written to transgender players facing a ban and offers “online talking therapy” or assistance with pursuing a career in women’s football, such as coaching or refereeing. The offer has been turned down by Sky.

As a graphic designer, Sky said, “I guess I could go into coaching or refereeing, but that’s not what my passion for the game is.” It’s being present on the pitch, interacting with people, and giving it everything until the last minute.

Georgie’s two brothers and uncle, who were heavily involved in the sport, and her family started playing football when she was five years old.

She said, “When I learned about the FA’s decision, it gave me a great sense of reassurance.

I was relieved that something was done to safeguard the integrity of the game, which is a place where I and many other women and girls rely so heavily.

“It’s not about excluding anyone,” he said. It’s about acknowledging the value of fairness and safety in sport.

Georgie, who is in her early 20s, claims that the scientific evidence supports her theory that the physiological differences created during male puberty have advantages that cannot be fully reversed by hormone therapy.

Because there are so few transgender athletes, there is only limited research on the possible impact of transitioning. However, research is still being done right now.

Georgie also told BBB Sport that her opinions are shared by the rest of her team and have been shaped by their experiences.

Two transgender women made up one of the teams we faced. She said, “I’ve witnessed first-hand how the physical differences on the pitch played out.”

None of us had consented to play in that kind of match-up, and yet we were put in that position. This isn’t something we see week in, week out in the women’s game.

Worse, we are told not to speak up when we try to. My coach made it clear as a captain that any insult I made to the FA or match officials, even politely, would likely lead to punishment. Many of us are silenced by that fear of retribution.

The FA changed its rules on April 11 to allow biologically male trans women to play in women’s football following stricter criteria before changing its policy a few days after the Supreme Court’s decision.