Gender goals: Meet Scotland's first trans and non-binary football club

On a chilly night in Glasgow, players with Scotland’s first all-inclusive transgender and non-binary football team are being put through their paces.

Formed in 2023, Gender Goals allows a safe space for those who need it during a challenging time for the community.

Jasmine Angove, the founder and president of the club, is using her own experiences as a trans player in the sport to help others.

“We’re changing football. We’re making grassroots football accessible,” Jasmine told STV News.

“We’re still relatively new, only a year-and-a-half old, but I think that just shows the demand there was for it, how there was nothing like this before and Scotland was really crying out for it.

“There were so many people, so many trans people, who felt like they couldn’t access sport because there wasn’t a safe space for it.

“We’ve created that. We’ve got 60-70 members now, people are regularly playing football, that’s amazing. We’ve changed a lot of people’s lives.

“A lot of people have told me privately what it has meant for them and their mental health. A lot of people were in dark places.

“The news isn’t good for trans people, it’s depressing, it’s scary. This is a place of hope, this is a place of coming together, this is a place where we can give each other advice and we can also relax, laugh and have fun ourselves without the pressures of the outside world destroying our lives.”

The club field a number of teams across different leagues.

And it is hoped that Gender Goals will continue to grow in numbers to further support the trans and non-binary community in Glasgow and beyond, ensuring that the beautiful game is open to all.

“I hope (Gender Goals) will change attitudes around the game,” Jasmine said.

“A lot of people say they love football to be extremely gendered. I think, especially at the grassroots level, as long as you’re having fun and you’re enjoying each other and everyone is consenting, why not? Why not include everyone? It’s not hurting anyone. You’re improving people’s lives.

“Glasgow has an amazing queer football scene. It’s huge, and they’ve welcomed us with open arms, and they’ve made that clear. We’ve made a joint statement together saying that trans people belong in football and that’s what we’re trying to do.

“We’re not trying to change football at the elite level. We don’t care about that, most people play football at the grassroots level and we want that to be a safe space for trans people.”

With trans rights continuing to dominate the headlines across the globe – the team admit their community is going through some dark times.

However, they hope to send a message that they belong in the sport.

Erik is among those to have benefited from playing with Gender Goals.

They said: “I was searching for a place where I could be my authentic self. I stopped playing football at high school in the States because I wasn’t good enough, I wasn’t masculine enough, but I loved the sport.

“I kind of hit this age and acknowledged my gender identity and my sexuality, and I said ‘why prohibit myself from doing something I love’? Some of our players may not be out at home, might not be out socially, not out at work, not out at school, but here they have this place.

“We have this hour where we can just be ourselves. We don’t have to be trans, we don’t have to be non-binary. We’re that the whole day, we’re used to people looking at us. This is the place where we can just put all of that away and just be ourselves and play football.”

Clara has also experienced difficult moments but feels her worries lift when she is playing football.

“You know, you forget about everything else in the world, and you don’t have to worry about what anyone else is thinking,” she said.

“You can see the variety of different age ranges, and we’ve got people from all parts of the world here playing with us. It’s nice because it’s a context where people might not normally mix as well.

“I know from my own experience that it’s got me out of some really dark times – just being able to come here and get a ball at your feet.”

For Jasmine, the experience of playing football as a trans person has varied throughout the country but overall she feels the sport has given her a new lease of life.

“I suppose it depends where you go,” she said.

“In cities like Glasgow it’s very welcoming, trans people are celebrated. I have played football in other places, in SWF leagues personally against other teams where I wasn’t welcomed so much.

“That was why I actually started Gender Goals because of the difficulties I faced in women’s football. I realised how football needs a safe space for trans people because more organised football is not a safe space for us.

“I suppose it’s given my life quite a lot of purpose. Before Gender Goals I was pretty lost. I was working in a cafe – no shade, I enjoyed it, sometimes – but I’ve always wanted to change people’s lives for the better and this is a chance to do that.

“I think it’s a really beautiful thing the range of ages (at Gender Goals). We have 18/19-year-olds coming in who are still finding themselves and we have older people who maybe found themselves later in life, or maybe they’ve been out for a long time.

“But everyone can share their own knowledges and experiences and help each other.”

You can find the fundraising page here.

This article is part of a series from STV Sport marking LGBTQ+ History Month, examining the current climate within Scottish football.