Proud Lilywhites, Tottenham’s official LGBTQI+ supporters’ group, have been changing lives and the law since they formed a decade ago, but have no plans to stop that anytime soon.
Tuesday marks the organization’s tenth anniversary and co-founder Chris Paouros acknowledged that an early goal was to “put ourselves out of business” by improving equality in football and changing homophobic attitudes.
The group’s achievements include helping a member seek asylum in Britain and contributing to the Chelsea rent boy chant being deemed a homophobic hate crime, with the past month full of activity to celebrate their milestone.
Recent men’s and women’s matches with Wolves and Aston Villa respectively were dedicated to Proud Lilywhites’ 10th anniversary, with the club’s 62,850-seat stadium lit up in rainbow colors and again on 15 February when a celebratory event was held at the ground , with first-team players Ben Davies and Ellie Brazil in attendance.
“Walking down the High Road (for Wolves) I can’t even tell you how I felt,” Paouros told the PA news agency.
“I come from the Seven Sisters way and when I saw the stadium celebrating 10 years of Proud Lilywhites it almost took my breath away and I feel emotion now talking about it.
“We came up with this thing ten years ago and thought this was a great idea!
“As an LGBTQI+ fan you don’t always feel like football is something for you. And I always say that feeling when the ball is about to hit the back of the net and everyone stands up at the same time, you don’t get that anywhere else. For that reason I don’t want to deny that to anyone.”
The Proud Lilywhites celebration event was attended by several key allies including Spurs’ executive director Donna-Maria Cullen, Kick It Out’s Troy Townsend, Women in Football’s Jo Tongue and Olympic gold medalist Helen Richardson-Walsh who all addressed the three-figure crowd. while symbolically Ledley King was also present.
Ex-Tottenham captain King has supported the group from the start after appearing in their very first photo ahead of a Europa League match against Dnipro on February 27, 2014.
The wheels started for Proud Lilywhites weeks before the launch event in Dnipro, when Paouros and five others held a meeting on White Hart Lane with then supporter liaison officer Jonathan Waite to outline the group’s formation.
In the Bill Nicholson Suite, Proud Lilywhites declared that their three key principles would be community, education and campaigning, setting the stage for changing lives and the law.
Later that year, Proud Lilywhites flew their rainbow-coloured flag on White Hart Lane for the first time, which was the catalyst for fans as group co-chairman Lee Johnson to give football a second chance.
Paouros added: “When we first put up a flag on White Hart Lane there was a huge fuss about it.
“Now it is a permanent fixture and people are proud of it. You can say it’s just a symbol to say you’re inclusive, but actually that flag has brought so many people back to the game.”
The homophobic rent boy song – aimed at Chelsea, its players and fans – had forced Johnson out of football, but the Crown Prosecution Service recognized it as a homophobic hate crime in 2022 after Proud Lilywhites worked with Chelsea Pride co-chairman Tracy Brown to gather evidence through victim impact statements to to ensure that the law was changed.
The proud Lilywhites also work with Kick It Out to provide fan education, but a real source of pride revolves around helping a member of the committee gain asylum in Britain.
“One of our members, she is now a member of the committee, sought asylum in this country due to persecution because of her sexual orientation,” Paouros explained.
“And as you know, if you apply for asylum, you have to prove it, and how on earth do you prove your sexual orientation? It’s unthinkable.
“However, in 2016 or 2017 we had a stall before the North London derby where we made rainbow sweets and talked about Proud Lilywhites. She helped and it was photographed.
“So that evidence of assistance at the stall, together with a letter we wrote in support of her case, meant she was granted asylum and it’s one case, but I’m really proud of that.”
There are countless other examples of Proud Lilywhites’ impact on the group who were recently praised by Angharad ‘Haz’ James on her departure from the women’s team, while Ashleigh Neville described them as ‘amazing’ earlier this month.
The Club will celebrate its tenth anniversary in tomorrow’s match against Wolves @SpursLGBT – our LGBTQI+ supporters association.
A special celebration event took place last night @SpursStadiumwith more than 100 Proud Lilywhites members and allies in attendance. #ProudLilywhites10
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) February 16, 2024
Proud Lilywhites have been recognized twice at the Football v Homophobia awards and were the fourth LGBTQI+ football group to be formed in England. Now they are one of more than 50 members associated with the Pride in Football network, which they helped form.
However, the groups’ work is far from over with the homophobic abuse directed at Proud Lilywhites on social media earlier this month, meaning a one-off claim is no longer true.
“We’ve always said we don’t want to put ourselves out of business and be in a position where we’re doing this forever, but Donna (Cullen) said, ‘Really? Because look at all these people who enjoy being part of this group.’ There is something in that because it is about how you bring people together to feel a sense of community,” Paouros admitted.
“Last year we saw an increase in homophobic chants and abuse in professional football.
“So we need to encourage a culture of reporting that doesn’t make people feel like they’re being fooled.
“While we are not safe on our phones, not safe on the streets and while football can sometimes send us signals that we do not belong, the Proud Lilywhites remain a beacon for the positive change that fans can make together with committed clubs like Spurs to to ensure Football really is for everyone.”