Latin America will host the gay football world cup for the first
time in the tournament's 16-year history when the event kicks off
this weekend in Buenos Aires. Twenty-eight teams, many representing
cities in Europe, the United States, Australia and Latin America,
as opposed to countries, will play in the International Gay and
Lesbian Football Association's (IGLFA) competition.
Buenos Aires is one of the most gay-friendly cities in South
America and as a result, has become a gay tourism magnet and has
also legalized gay civil unions. "The players approach it with a
lot of enthusiasm and strength. We've been preparing for a year and
we want to win," said Nestor Gammella, trainer for one of the
Argentine teams. Football federations elsewhere in the region have
not been so supportive.
"We've knocked on a lot of doors, many of which did not open. A lot
of people just stare and don't support us," Andoni Bello, captain
of Mexico's Trigay team, said this week in Mexico City.
Bello said the Mexican Football Federation declined to support them
in a public letter sent in March. A Mexican team is in the event
for the first time thanks to support from other groups, he
said.
"If gay-lesbian soccer exists it's because gays and lesbians can't
play the sport without suffering discrimination," said Cesar
Cigliutti, president of the Argentine Homosexual Community gay
advocacy group. "The sports world is very homophobic, very
discriminatory and soccer is a prime example. That's exactly why
these championships were born," he said.
