One of the A-League’s most deep-seated rivalries will be set aside in a spectacular moment of unity in the forthcoming A-Leagues season.
The A-Leagues Pride Cup will be at stake when Melbourne Victory and Adelaide United meet on February 26 next year, in a pair of games that will celebrate LGBTI+ inclusion in football.
The doubleheader at AAMI Park will be hosted with Pride Cup Australia, a body aiming to change sporting culture through education and events, and follows on from the A-Leagues Pride Game hosted by Adelaide last season.
Pride Cup began working with Adelaide in October last year, following Josh Cavallo’s decision to come out as, at the time, the only openly gay, active professional male football player in the world.
Now the concept has been formalised into an annual event, with Victory hosting this year’s iteration. The Isuzu UTE A-League Men’s teams will kick off at 3pm and the Liberty A-League Women’s game following at 6pm.
The potential power of such an event was underlined by a statistic quoted by James Lolicato, CEO of Pride Cup Australia, a group that has worked with more than 450 sporting teams over the past four years to change their environment.
“With 78% of LGBTI+ people not feeling safe as spectators at sporting events, this is a huge opportunity to show LGBTI+ people that football can be a safe and welcoming place for all,” Lolicato said..
“Through the 2023 Pride Cup, we have a fantastic opportunity to both celebrate the wonderful LGBTI+ players, fans, and officials of the game, deliver important education, and highlight how sport can change hearts and minds.”
Melbourne Victory’s women’s team – the reigning A-League Women champions – were part of the Pride Game last season, and Victory managing director Caroline Carnegie said the aim was “to make this fixture a mainstay in the A-Leagues calendar.
“Melbourne Victory was established as a Club for everyone and the chance to celebrate LGBTI+ inclusion in football with both our men’s and women’s sides on the same day truly reflects this.
“Pride Cup will be a celebration of all that is great about our game and how the football field is a place that only differentiates sides by the colour of their shirts.”
After staging the first game last season, and working with Cavallo to support him in coming out, Adelaide United CEO Nathan Kosmina said: “This annual fixture will ensure LGBTI+ inclusion is a consistent theme raised amongst A-Leagues supporters and will aid in helping those from the LGBTI+ community feel safe and welcome in football.
“We saw tremendous support for our Pride Game last season and we’re confident that will only continue to increase for many years to come.”
