IGLYO youth sport research
1st November 2025
New research launched
We welcome a new qualitative research report from IGLYO which examines and documents the lived experiences of LGBTIQ+ young people in school and community sport. The report 'From the Sidelines to the Playing Field: LGBTQI Youth Perspectives on Inclusion in School and Community Sport', was launched this week, with concrete recommendations for policymakers, sport institutions, educators, and youth organisations to ensure that sport can fully respect and include every young person.
This publication presents the main findings structured around three themes - access and participation, safety and exclusion, and affirmation and visibility. Some of the key findings include:
> Participation in sport strengthens LGBTQI youth’s well-being by supporting mental health, building body confidence, fostering care and autonomy and enabling empowerment and reflection.
> Persistent gender norms in schools, clubs and families shape LGBTIQ+ experiences in sport, causing LGBTIQ+ youth to be compelled to conform, self-censor, or opt-out.
> LGBTIQ+ young people must be able to decide if, when and how to share their identities in sport. Disclosure can be risky but also support self-discovery – and should never be forced by institutional rules.
> Sport and equality policies often rely on broad promises of “inclusion for all” without explicitly naming LGBTQI youth, leaving them invisible in governance and action plans.
> Reporting systems are frequently mistrusted, unavailable or mishandled, leaving LGBTQI youth silent as a survival strategy and allowing discrimination to go unchallenged.
> Eligibility rules and administrative procedures designed for elite level sport, often systematically exclude trans and intersex youth in community sport.
> Growing anti-gender movements and political hostility create a climate of fear that makes sport unsafe before participation even begins, putting trans youth at particular risk and forcing some queer initiatives to retreat from visibility.
The report also includes many inspiring and encouraging examples of practice from around Europe, including the Manifesto for Inclusive Physical Education. For more information on the research, check out the IGLYO article here and for the full research report including the key findings in full, you can download the full report here.
