Watford LGBTQ+ groups score victory but football still has a long way to go

Last week two Watford supporters’ groups successfully campaigned to have their side’s friendly with Qatar called off. Women of Watford and the LGBTQ+ supporters’ group Proud Hornets tweeted their disdain after the fixture was announced. They discussed their concerns and Watford pulled out. “The game was never finalised and it became abundantly clear this was a game not to play; as such, the schedule was revised,” a club spokesperson said.

Qatar’s Football Association said it had received a number of offers to play friendly matches. “We selected some friendly matches with various European teams and Watford was not among these matches that the team will play.”

The cancellation of a meaningless game at a training camp in Austria between a Championship team trying to build some fitness and the World Cup hosts may not appear to be the biggest story.

But the fact that a gay supporters’ group played a key role in affecting the decisions of a professional football club feels like quite a seminal moment. Would this have happened a decade ago? It is to Watford’s credit that they listened to their fans. And it is heartwarming that Women of Watford and Proud Hornets empowered enough to speak openly about how they feltable to speak out. On Thursday the Shrewsbury Town group Proud Salopians achieved the same outcome, with their club’s game against Qatar cancelled.

This week on the Guardian Football Weekly as part of Pride month we recorded a special on the experiences of the LGBTQ+ community in the game. There are reasons to be positive: the mobilisation of fan groups, the increased visibility through things such as the Rainbow Laces campaign, current players such as Josh Cavallo and Jake Daniels coming out to almost universal support