The Premier League is reportedly set to no longer take part in the Rainbow Laces campaign after ending its partnership with LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall, and will instead set up its own inclusion initiative for the 2025-26 season.

First reported by The Telegraph‘s sports team, the world’s richest football league has ditched its relationship with Stonewall – which launched its Rainbow Laces campaign back in 2013 – after eight years and will create of its own inclusion campaign to coincide with LGBTQ+ History Month in February.

Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces campaign is an annual, visible show of support for LGBTQ+ inclusion in sport which takes place in November and December, with players from elite to amateur level in various different sports donning rainbow laces alongside their normal kit to highlight equality and acceptance.

Football has been a huge supporter of the campaign over the years both in the professional and grassroots game. The campaigning period also sees club captains wear rainbow-coloured armbands to promote the cause.

Research has previously shown the campaign has helped to improve the attitudes of sports fans towards the LGBTQ+ community, with the data outlining 74 per cent of the 12 million sport fans who saw the Rainbow Laces campaign in 2022 considered LGBTQ+ people as part of the sport community. This was also compared to 58 per cent of sport fans who did not see the campaign. 

According to The Telegraph, the decision was taken by the Premier League to no longer activate the Stonewall campaign because there had been a growth of in-house expertise with the league and its clubs.

In a statement said with BBC Sport, a spokesperson for Stonewall said: “Rainbow Laces has benefited from a wide range of partners with a natural ebb and flow reflecting cultural and sporting changes.

“Alongside other sporting bodies the FA has been instrumental in advancing LGBTQ+ inclusion at the grassroots level and more recently the Women’s Super League has taken up the mantle as the women’s game has grown – enabling Rainbow Laces to reach more diverse audiences.”

Discrimination in football ‘on the rise’ in UK

The decision comes just days after new data was released by campaign group Kick It Out about discrimination in football, with the figures showing the number of discriminatory incidents recorded during the latest football season is once again up on the previous year.

Drawn from reports across the professional game, grassroots and social media during the 2024/25 football season, the data showed there were 1,398 reports with a sharp rise in sexism, transphobia and faith-based abuse whilst racism remained the most reported form of discriminatory incidents.

Last season also saw two Premier League players court controversy for their attitudes to the rainbow armbands.

In December 2024, Ipswich Town captain Sam Morsy – who also plays for the Egypt national squad – chose not to wear the rainbow armband during the club’s match against Nottingham Forest due to his religious beliefs.

“Ipswich Town Football Club is committed to being a fully inclusive club that welcomes everyone,” an official statement said at the time. “We proudly support the Premier League’s Rainbow Laces campaign and stand with the LGBTQ+ community in promoting equality and acceptance.

“At the same time, we respect the decision of our captain Sam Morsy, who has chosen not to wear the rainbow captain’s armband due to his religious beliefs. We will continue to grow an environment where all are valued and respected, both on and off the pitch.”

During the same weekend, Crystal Palace defender Marc Guéhi was criticised for writing “I Love Jesus” on his rainbow-coloured captain’s armband during his team’s game against Newcastle United.

Despite being warned by the FA that the message breached the sporting body’s rule on not displaying religious symbols, Guéhi – who is the son of a minister and has spoken openly about his Christian faith – subsequently wrote “Jesus [heart symbol] You” on his armband for Crystal Palace’s match against Ipswich Town a few days later.

In what was considered a statement on the matter shared on Instagram, Guéhi wrote on his story following the match: “Jesus [loves] you. Stay blessed”.

Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner backed his player, saying: “We respect every single player, especially Marc, who is our captain. He is a great guy, very humble and we shouldn’t make it bigger than it is, he is very respectful to everyone in the club.

“In football we are all against discrimination, it’s a great campaign. We spoke about it, we speak often as he is my captain.”

Glasner continued: “He is no child, he is an adult, he has his opinion and we accept and respect every opinion. The quote of this campaign is to be tolerant and Marc is very tolerant.”

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