committed against homophobia, FC Paris Arc-en-ciel is a club that is “more than football”

The colors of the rainbow do not go unnoticed in the gray evening. They adorn the coat of arms of FC Paris Arc-en-ciel, a club in the northeast of the capital. Monday, May 15, his men’s team faces Balard, top opponent of the FSGT championship (Federation sportive et gymnastics du travail), on the lawn of the Jules Noël sports center, swept by an abnormally cold wind.

A few days after the refusal of certain Ligue 1 players to wear the jerseys with rainbow numbers, in view of the world day against homophobia and transphobia (Wednesday May 17), the commitment of FC Paris Arc-en-ciel takes on a particular resonance.

“There are sometimes clashes”

Founded in 1997, Paris Arc en Ciel is the oldest LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) football club in France. “It is a club geared towards gay and lesbian audiences, and which wants to be a welcoming space for those who cannot necessarily find themselves in traditional locker rooms, where they can be confronted with homophobic remarks for example”, says Benoît Angelini, the president of the club, a few hours before the match. All in a framework of benevolence and relaxation, as evidenced by the good humor shared during the warm-up.

With 160 licensees for the 2022-2023 season, about as many players as players, the club continues to convey this message on a daily basis. Inscribed in the FFF championship for girls, FSGT for boys, the teams display the rainbow logo throughout Paris and its surroundings. “There is a mentality in football, a part plagued by racism, homophobia, which I support less and less, in which I do not find myself”explains Jonas Foureaux, one of the team’s two player-coaches, between the final adjustments when filling out the game sheet. “I am realized that it was important to wear other things. I wanted to join a club that is a little more than football, that there is an ideology.

To fight against homophobia, but also any other form of discrimination, the club acts especially during tournaments organized for these occasions. “These tournaments which are intended to be militant, they are both sports tournaments, but always with militant aspects of raising awareness which are expressed”explains Benoît Angelini. This awareness can also be done through interventions with young people in the 20th arrondissement of Paris, where the club is located. “We try to initiate a dialogue through quizzes, through questionnaires, to engage the discussion in a somewhat playful way to be able to really discuss, to see the relationship with all LGBT issues”continues the president.

Exchanges that find echoes within the men’s team itself, which brings together different players, but all committed to the fight against discrimination. “It’s not always easy, there are sometimes clashes, but that’s what is the most rewarding”assures Tom Masson, the other coach, at the entrance to the locker room, monitoring the arrival of his players, between greetings and chambers.

A fight on their scale

For club players, the work of dialogue and awareness is necessary to move the lines. “There is a need for understanding, for deconstructing representations. We really have to work on this, with all the audiences”pleads Benedict Angelini. A work to which FC Paris Arc-en-ciel is committed on its own scale, but which it also wishes to see grow, and supported by the institutions. “We would like the FFF to be more involved in these issues. We were able to challenge them to try to have a dialogue, but I think that the institutions are not very sensitive on these subjects.regrets the president.

Especially since the subject is more present than ever, as shown by the refusal of certain players in several Ligue 1 clubs to wear the awareness rainbow jersey this weekend, during the 35th day. “We discussed it with the players of the team. I am angry with those who refused. They are just asked once a year to wear a rainbow flocked jersey, I do not understand the refusals “, asserts Jonas Foureaux, his features closed under his cap. He dreams of seeing, one day, the great players take a stand and provide their support, to change things.