Trans women barred from women's football by English, Scottish FAs / Photo: CARL RECINE - POOL/AFP/File
Trans women barred from women's football by English, Scottish FAs
Transgender women will no longer be able to play in women's football from June 1, England's governing Football Association announced Thursday.
The FA said it had updated its policy following last month's UK Supreme Court ruling regarding the Equality Act.
The Scottish Football Association said Thursday it would also implement a similar ban from the start of its 2025/26 season.
These new rule changes will apply to all women's football at amateur and professional levels in both countries.
The English FA's transgender inclusion policy had been updated just before the Supreme Court ruling, and continued to allow transgender women to play in women's football provided they reduced testosterone levels.
Those rule changes gave the FA discretion on whether to allow a trans woman to play, with consideration given to issues of safety and fairness.
Now though, the FA has redrawn its policy and barred trans women from the women's game after the Supreme Court, the UK's highest court, ruled the legal definition of a "woman" is based on a person's sex at birth and does not include transgender women who hold a gender recognition certificate.
"We understand that this will be difficult for people who simply want to play the game they love in the gender by which they identify, and we are contacting the registered transgender women currently playing to explain the changes and how they can continue to stay involved in the game," the FA said in a statement.
In a separate announcement, the SFA said: "As a gender-affected sport, the Scottish FA board has determined that from the start of season 2025/26 only biological females will be permitted to play in competitive girls' and women's football which is governed by the Scottish FA."
- 'Fairness and safety' -
Fiona McAnena, director of campaigns at the charity Sex Matters, welcomed the ruling at the time, saying it was crucial for fairness and safety.
"The judges mentioned fairness in sport," she told Britain's Press Association. "The law was always clear that everyone male can be excluded to provide fair, safe sport for women and girls, but some people claimed it was unkind or complicated to do so.
"It's neither of those -- it's essential for fairness and safety for everyone female."
Transgender participation has become a hot issue as different sports try to balance inclusivity with ensuring fair competition.
International governing bodies in a number of sports including cycling, swimming and athletics have tightened policies to effectively ban transgender competitors, in some cases amid fears of possible legal action should a biological woman be injured by a trans competitor.
Sebastian Coe, the president of World Athletics, has been outspoken about "protecting" the female category.
The British track great, a double Olympic 1500 metres champion, made defending women's sport a key plank of his unsuccessful bid to succeed Thomas Bach as president of the International Olympic Committee.
In March, World Athletics said it had introduced a cheek swab test to determine if an athlete is biologically female.
"It's important to do it because it maintains... not just talking about the integrity of female women's sport, but actually guaranteeing it," said Coe.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump's administration has said it will only recognise two sexes, male and female, and the US president signed an executive order seeking to ban transgender athletes from participating in women's sports.
P.Schulz--VZ
