DES Buckingham says Oxford United would throw its full support behind any player who came out as gay.

The stigma that surrounds being gay in men’s professional football has been chipped away at in recent years, however there is only one current gay male British player.

In May 2022, Blackpool striker Jake Daniels, who was 17 at the time, became the UK’s first player to come out publicly as gay since Justin Fashanu in 1990.

He followed in the footsteps of Australian player Josh Cavallo, who came out publicly in 2021, while Czech Republic international Jakub Jankto is currently the highest profile male footballer to announce he is gay, doing so in February 2023.

Jankto has more than 40 caps for his country, while his club career has seen him play for the likes of Udinese, Sampdoria, Getafe, Sparta Prague, and current side Cagliari.

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On the barrier holding back more players coming out as gay, Buckingham said: “It needs a couple of people to lead the way, and I’m sure there are many.

“There’s Jake Daniels and Josh Cavallo who have come out of late, and there are others that have since they stopped playing.

“I think it will come with time. For those people that come out now, it’s a brave thing to do, certainly in sport or in football in particular.

“All we can do is make sure that what we have control of here, is that we will support as much as we can.

“This is a very inclusive club and we’ll do everything we can to make sure that we will support and look after them, so they have the same enjoyment as everybody else.”

Oxford Mail:

Earlier this month, Proud Yellows, a support group for U’s fans, officially became the club’s first LGBTQ+ fan group.

United said at the time that it wants ‘everyone to feel welcome to attend our matches, regardless of gender, race, religion or sexual identification’.

“It’s 2024. I think there are a lot of things that have evolved in both life and sport, and I think this is a big step for people,” said Buckingham.

“Whether it’s part of that group or the other fans who come to support, it’s about making sure everyone’s behind the club, and be part of that going forwards.

“Everybody wants to go to a game of football and enjoy the game. It shouldn’t matter where you’re from or all the other things that can be tagged.

“That shouldn’t matter. It’s about a group of people that believe in a team, and in this case, that’s Oxford United.”