Dealing with Transexual or Transgender Players

An individual’s success within football can be a result of both their technical ability and their physiological composition. Therefore the average attributes found between the genders can place an individual at a great advantage (or even disadvantage) if placed in direct competition with the opposite sex. It is for this reason that many football associations have established guidelines surrounding the involvement of individual’s of transsexual and transgender within football.

Firstly, it must be highlighted that legally it is unlawful to discriminate against anyone based purely on the fact they are transsexual or transgender, and it is possible for the individual to obtain legal documentation recognising their gender. However this documentation does not stop them being placed at an advantage / disadvantage in comparison with fellow participants.

The common fundamental aspects across a number of football associations revolving around the involvement of transsexual or transgender individual’s are;

The individual is to be viewed as their new gender and allowed to immediately participate within football if they have undergone their corrective surgery prior to puberty, regardless whether they have gone male to female, or female to male.

However there are stricter guidelines when the gender reassignment has occurred post puberty. These guidelines include;

• Surgery must have occurred more than 2 years prior to their registered involvement.
• Hormonal therapy has been verifiably administered for a sufficient amount of time so that all gender related advantages have been successfully minimised.
• The relevant legal documentation recognising the gender reassignment has been supplied to the relevant football authority.
• The case has been assessed by the football authority. Each case should be analysed on a individual basis.
• It is only once all this criteria has been met and approval has been received from the appropriate governing body that individual’s can commence participation.