Transgender women will be forbidden to play for women's football teams in England from 1 June, the football association, the governance organ of sport in the country, said Thursday.
In a declaration, the football association, known as he, said he changed his policy following a sentence of the Supreme Court last month, in which it is stated that the laws on British equality were based on “biological sex” and that trans women did not fall within the legal definition of women.
The Fa is the last organ to update its policies following the judgment, which all public and private bodies in Great Britain must now incorporate into internal practice on services and spaces in single sex.
The Association said that the Supreme Court sentence required change, which means that “transgender women will no longer be able to play in women's football in England”. The ban covers amateur football and regional championships that are governed by FA and professional game.
“We understand that this will be difficult for people who simply want to play the game they love in the genre with which they identify and are contacting the recorded transgender women who currently play to explain the changes and how they can continue to remain involved in the game,” added the association.
Other sports bodies are developing policies resulting from the sentence of the Supreme Court. The Scottish Football Association has also announced that from the beginning of the 2025-26 season, “only biological females will be authorized to play in the football of girls and competitive women”.
Pride Sports, a British LGBTQ group that leads a campaign to fight transphobia in football, said that it was “deeply saddened” by the announcements in England and Scotland.
The group said she met less than 30 trans women active in women's football in both countries and that most had “played for several years without accidents”.
“In a few weeks, they will lose not only their family place in football, but the numerous benefits for physical and mental health that derive from being part of a welcoming team environment,” added the declaration. “A consequence of these prohibitions, inevitably, will be an increase in transfobia accidents in football.”
By announcing the sentence of the Supreme Court last month, the vice -president of the Court, Patrick Hodge, said that his unanimous decision was that “the terms” woman “and” sex “in the Equality Act 2010 refer to biological women and biological sex”.
But he added that the judgment was not a “triumph of one or more groups in our society at the expense of another” and that trans people would continue to have protections against discrimination in a different part of the law.
While the sentence was celebrated by the supporters of activists who brought the case, including the author JK Rowling, the Human Rights Groups and the Trans Rights activists have raised alarm for its consequences.
Although the case was focused on the definition of women, it also applies to trans men and means that they will be classified as women pursuant to the law.
When he was contacted by the New York Times, a Football Association spokesman said he could not comment on what the Supreme Court sentence meant for trans men who played in men's football teams and who would publicly announce further political changes.