Jake Daniels' coming out will be "absolutely key" as UK celebrates 50 years of LGBT+ Pride

The UK's LGBT+ community celebrates the 50th anniversary of the first Pride march to be held in the country this year, with June the traditional month for those protests and parades.

For more than 30 years, football's closest connection to the community at the elite level has been the Rainbow Laces campaigns of recent times. But all of that changed in May, when Jake Daniels became the first English professional footballer since Justin Fashanu to come out as gay.

It was a high point in what is a year of celebration, though there remains a long way to go in the search for equality for LGBT+ people across the world. That is something that is driven home by Leatherhead boss Luke Tuffs, who is English football's highest-placed openly gay manager.

"Growing up, I didn't really have anyone to look up to or anything like that. Certainly in days gone by it was something that was very hidden away as well. So for me, it shows that there are other people who are exactly the same and actually it's ok to be who you are and you can still be successful," he said exclusively to Mirror Football.

"Look in America right now, recently they changed the law where it [being LGBT+] can't be spoken about in schools and things like that. There's how ever many countries in the world where it is still illegal.

"And look out our football here in our country, there's only one out professional player, so there's still a long way to go. So again, it's things like this that makes life easier for the next generation. Very, very important."

Tuffs' point about the ongoing fight is driven home by James Cole, who is chairman of Village Manchester FC. The club are one of the leading LGBT+ inclusive teams in the UK, having recently won the GFSN Cup, though Cole