Pride House Milano
13th March 2026
LEAP participate on discussion panel
LEAP Sports was represented on the international stage on the 21st February as Executive Director Hugh Torrance took part in a panel discussion at Pride House Milano 2026, focused on human rights-based approaches to LGBTIQ+ inclusion in sport.
The session brought together leading voices from across sport and human rights, including Francine Hetherington Raveney, Deputy Executive Secretary of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport at the Council of Europe, and Dr. Payoshni Mitra, Executive Director of Humans of Sport, and was moderated by former Olympic athlete Javier Raya.
Reflecting on the event, fellow panellists highlighted the importance of collaboration across institutions, civil society and affected communities, and the need to strengthen partnerships to drive real change. The panel followed a wider programme of discussions at Pride House Milano, designed to create space for dialogue, visibility and action around inclusion in sport.
The discussion explored how policy commitments can be translated into meaningful, lived experiences for LGBTIQ+ people in sport, particularly at grassroots level. In his contribution, Hugh emphasised that while commitments to equality are increasingly common, the real challenge lies in implementation:
“Equality plans and frameworks are no longer scarce, but the real resources and practices that it takes to operationalise them often are. Because lived reality isn’t shaped on paper; it’s shaped in sports halls, changing rooms, training grounds, in local clubs.”
The evening in Pride House also looked ahead to the opportunity presented by major events such as Milan 2026 and our own Pride House in Glasgow later this year, with a shared focus on ensuring that visibility leads to lasting structural change.
LEAP Sports’ participation in the panel reflects its ongoing commitment to advancing equality and inclusion in sport, both in Scotland and across international networks.
