GFSN National League

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GFSN National League
GFSN National League
Sport Football
Founded 2002
No. of teams 8
Country Flag of England England
Current champions Brighton Bandits FC

The GFSN National League (often referred to as the GNL) is an amateur league competition for gay football clubs across the United Kingdom. The league is associated with the Gay Football Supporters Network (GFSN) - a football supporters group catering for the LGBT community. The league was formed in 2002 with four founder members, and has steadily grown to eight teams since its inception.

There is a strong feeling of community across the league, born out of the GFSN. Over a match-day weekend, it is likely that both teams will socialise before (and after) the match, which has lead to close friendships, friendly rivalries, and even relationships forming. This community-ethos and friendliness of the league is an important factor in its success, although in recent times a very definite competitive edge has started to appear.

Contents

[edit] History

In the middle of the 1990s a number of gay football clubs were forming across the United Kingdom, primarily to offer LGBT people in their local region the opportunity to play football in a welcoming and friendly environment. As the teams grew in size, 5-a-side tournaments and 11-a-side friendly fixtures were organised between teams.

Eventually in 2002, a competitive league was formed, founded by four teams; Yorkshire Terriers F.C, Leicester Wildecats F.C, Leftfooters F.C. (based in London), and the now defunct Bristol Panthers F.C. The first GNL fixture kicked-off on Sunday 29th September 2002, with Leicester Wildecats defeating Yorkshire Terriers 5-1.

The Gay National League has no affiliation with the Football Association (FA), and is not linked to the National League System, although the GFSN itself does have a relationship with the FA in its attempts to eradicate discrimination and homophobia from football.

[edit] Format And Rules

The GFSN National League does not require teams to "register" players in advance of a season/match. A team can field players of any sexuality or gender, making the league unique in that both woman and men take part together. Players do not have to be pre-registered before they play, unlike normal local amateur leagues.

The competition rules are exactly the same as normal 11-a-side FA rules, with one alteration to Law 3 - The Number of Players. Teams are permitted to make rolling substitutions, and players are permitted to be substituted back on to the field of play even if they have been earlier substituted off the pitch.

[edit] Inaugural 2002/2003 Season

The season ended in exhilarating (and some say controversial) style with the Bristol Panthers becoming the first GNL Champions, after defeating Leftfooters FC 16-0. Bristol needed to win the match by 13 clear goals to grasp the championship, and rumors consumed the league that Bristol had fielded 'ringers' to ensure the result.

As the league does not register players this rumor was impossible to prove, and the Bristol teamsheet for the Leftfooters match was broadly similar to previous games in the season. However, there is now a strong sense amongst the competing teams that the fielding of "ringers" should be avoided, and all players must subscribe to the ethos of the league. In reality, it's almost impossible to regulate this philosophy and is reliant on the goodwill of the clubs.

[edit] Previous Winners

Season Winners Runners-Up Third Place
2002/2003 Bristol Panthers FC Leicester Wildecats FC Yorkshire Terriers FC
2003/2004 Yorkshire Terriers FC Leicester Wildecats FC Brighton Bandits FC
2004/2005 Bristol Panthers FC Brighton Bandits FC Leftfooters FC
2005/2006 Brighton Bandits FC Village Manchester FC Yorkshire Terriers FC

[edit] Expansion

Since formation, the league initially expanded slowly to include newly formed teams across the country. Brighton Bandits joined for the 2003/2004 season, and Village Manchester FC were accepted into the league in 2005/2006 - replacing the then-champions Bristol Panthers, who dropped out citing lack of players.

More recently, the popularity of gay football across the country has increased. Many new teams have formed, and three were accepted into the league for the 2006/2007 season: Birmingham Blaze FC, London Titans FC, and GFC Bournemouth, doubling the size of the original league.

It should be noted that the players in the league are amateurs, and do not receive any fees or subsidies for taking part. Teams only receive funds from local sponsors, fundraisers, or shirt sponsorship. With the increasing number of teams (meaning more travelling and associated costs), this is creating both a financial and time-consuming burden on players to attend all matches and events throughout a season. It is widely felt that if the rate of expansion continues, the league may in the future split into two regional leagues to minimise travelling and costs.

A short-term solution to this problem was to reduce the number of fixtures in a season, and the format of the 2006/2007 competition was altered making teams play each other in a Six Nations style format - either home or away.

[edit] Current 2006/2007 Season

The current season kicked off on 9th September 2006 in London, with Leftfooters FC losing 8-0 to Yorkshire Terriers and London Titans losing 8-1 to Village Manchester. This season also included the inaugural GNL Cup; a knock-out cup competition to compliment the league.

As of 24th February 2007, each club has two fixtures remaining and it seems likely that either Yorkshire Terriers or GFC Bournemouth (in their first season) may be crowned champions. However, current champions Brighton Bandits recently defeated Yorkshire Terrier 4-0 and are making a late surge up the table.

[edit] Trivia

  • Ian Collins of Yorkshire Terriers is credited with scoring the first ever goal in the GFSN National League.
  • Leicester Wildecat's Wayne Carter is the current all-time record goal-scorer with 23 goals (does not include 2006/07 season)
  • Two-times GFSN National League Champions Bristol Panthers F.C. withdrew from the league before the start of the 2005/06 season due to lack of players.

[edit] Other Clubs

Stonewall Football Club, a gay team based in London, do not compete in the Gay National League, preferring to take part in the Middlesex county league - although they do have second and third teams that take part in friendlies and other tournaments. Village Manchester FC also compete in their local FA league, with their second-team competing in the GNL. There are also two newly formed teams in the Greater London area; London Falcons FC and Romans A.F.C.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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