English football legend Gary Lineker has thrown his support behind a campaign looking to raise funds to erect a statue commemorating the first openly gay professional footballer.
The LGBT+ fan group of Championship side Norwich City, Proud Canaries, are hoping to raise £150,000 for the statue of Justin Fashanu. The striker came out as gay in 1990, becoming the first professional footballer to do while he was still playing.
Fashanu would sadly go on to take his own life eight years later and it took until May of this year for the next active professional English footballer to come out in Jake Daniels. The former Norwich player came out during a time when the LGBT+ community was facing an intense level of discrimination.
And now supporters of his old side are hoping to celebrate his legacy with a statue on the approach to Carrow Road. It is an initiative that has quickly received the backing of Lineker, who was playing for Tottenham when Fashanu came out.
"The Justin Fashanu statue campaign is a great initiative. Commemorating Britain’s first openly gay professional footballer and shining a light on the ongoing battle for LGBTQ+ representation, in football," Lineker wrote on Twitter.
Lineker also posted a link to the campaign's website, which has been set up by Proud Canaries. On the website the group reveals their reasons for seeking to commemorate Fashanu.
"In a time of intense discrimination and violence towards the LBGTQ+ community around the world, it is crucial, now more than ever, to highlight resilience, strength, and courage," the website says.
"By erecting a statue in honor of Justin Fashanu, the first out gay footballer in the professional game, we are doing just that – shining a light on an individual who shattered the glass ceiling in football, the effects of which we are still feeling today.
"But we need your support. We are raising funds to pay for Justin's sculpture, garden, and related costs to ensure that this memorial is beautifully crafted to represent the beacon of hope and progress that Justin was in life.
"Justin’s statue will send a message to all athletes, whoever you are or love. Norwich City fans recognize that Justin’s legacy is more than just as a star footballer. He courageously broke a ceiling that was repaired and remains unbroken."
They go on to highlight the fact it took 32 years for the next English footballer to come out, before insisting that showcasing visbile role models is crucial to the LGBT+ community feeling accepted in the sport.
"The fact, that it took another 32 years before Jake Daniels became the second footballer to come out, is testament to the fear and stigma that gay and bisexual footballers still endure today," the website adds.
"Outside of football, LGBTQ sports stars have flourished in Britain over the last decade – breaking barriers and providing powerful role models for a new generation seeking a space to be themselves. But invisibility is even more powerful than visibility.
"When the gay or bisexual kid sees nobody like them in the ranks of professional footballers how can they ever picture themselves fulfilling their dream? Young footballers learn early to hide or give up. Homophobic ‘banter’ in the dressing room, vicious chants on the terraces, and coaches telling them to lay low and not bring attention to their sexuality.
"If footballers reflected all 16-35 year-old men in Britain we would see at least 167 out gay or bisexual players in the four professional leagues of England and Wales. That’s two same-sex loving men in every side. We would have 36 in the premiership alone. Where are those hundreds of footballers?"
If the campaign hits its fundraising target of £150,000, artist Taslim Martin will be employed to sculpt the statue. It will then be placed on the banks of the River Wensum along with a communal garden.
