Aston Villa supports the LGBT+ community

Last weekend, Aston Villa were present at the Birmingham Pride Festival 2018, showing their support for the LGBT+ community and their commitment to make the club a fully inclusive environment by promoting the new ALL IN initiative.

As thousands of people took on the streets to celebrate the LGBT+ community on 26 and 27 May, Aston Villa staff members and participants of the Birmingham Pride proudly showed their support of the club’s inclusive ALL IN imitative. From taking pictures with the ALL IN selfie frame to taking part in a competition to win signed memorabilia at the stall of the Aston Villa Foundation, people came together to show their support for making football an environment free from hate and discrimination.

Commitment towards equality, inclusion, and anti-discrimination

Lee Preece, ALL IN Lead Officer and Equality Champion, believes attending the event shows the club are serious in their commitment towards equality, inclusion, and anti-discrimination. He said:

“As a representative of the city of Birmingham, it is vitally important that the club represent the people who live in it.

“We’ve created ALL IN as the new identity of our equality and diversity work, ensuring that we’re an inclusive club embracing anyone that wants to be Part of the Pride.

“Being at Birmingham Pride is an opportunity for us to show the LGBT+ community will always be welcome at Villa Park.”

A full gallery summarising the event can be found here. Also before the event, CEO Keith Wyness joined staff members from every department in taking a picture with the ALL IN selfie frame. That album can be found here.

ALL IN

All IN

ALL IN is a new campaign of Aston Villa FC. Launched in April this year, the initiative aims to ensure the football club is an inclusive institution that provides a welcoming environment to supporters, the local community, customers, employees, contacts, and competitors. Aston Villa ensures that the club and all its subsidiaries are free from discrimination of any kind, embracing all regardless of age, race, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, sex (gender), religion or belief.