A UK football charity has recorded 203 reports of homophobia during 2025/26, marking a 46% increase from the previous season. Kick It Out released the figures on Wednesday, July 29, as part of a broader analysis of discrimination in the sport.

Incidents occurred across professional and grassroots football, as well as online spaces. The organisation received a total of 1,744 reports of discrimination, a 25% rise from the previous period.

Racism remained the most reported issue, with 792 cases documented. This was followed by sexism (216), homophobia (203), antisemitism (93), ableism (89) and Islamophobia (60).

The football charity also noted a 41% rise in reports of discriminatory chanting, whether it be racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic or ableist. Furthermore, there was a rise in incidents involving anti-immigrant language across all levels of the game.

While the number of reports in all areas reached their highest-ever figures, it also suggests an increased willingness to call out discrimination. This may be a result of Kick It Out establishing partnerships with Her Game Too, Football v Homophobia and the Frank Soo Foundation to boost confidence to report abuse, record data transparently and drive further outcomes.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Kick It Out (@kickitout)

Kick It Out’s CEO, Samuel Okafor, said, “These figures show that discrimination remains deeply embedded across the game at a time when we’re also seeing rises in hate crime and divisive political rhetoric in Britain. But they also show that people are more willing to stand up to abuse when they see it, and it’s encouraging to see professional players set that example last season.

Okafor continued, “While we recognise that there is a lot of good work ongoing in football to tackle discrimination, we will continue to work with football authorities, clubs, leagues, regulators and government to ensure we match the courage shown to report abuse with clear and consistent action so that football is welcoming to everyone.”

Football v Homophobia Director Lou Englefield added, “We echo Kick It Out’s concern that divisive political rhetoric in Britain is fuelling discrimination. To combat this, we call on senior leaders in football and all those with influence to take more meaningful steps in support of education, awareness and allyship.

“LGBTQ+ people feel safer to be themselves when they see action being taken that is inclusive and welcoming, particularly from those they look up to in the sport they love.

“With more than 1,000 discrimination incidents recorded by Kick It Out last season, football cannot and must not be complacent,” Englefield concluded.

These findings come shortly after the UK Football Policing Unit also shared that domestic abuse incidents during the 2026 FIFA World Cup were at their highest recorded level, with 384 incidents recorded.