The Football Association (FA) has formalized its policy to entirely ban transgender women from participating in women's football.
The FA announced on June 1 (Korean time) through its official website that "we have changed our existing regulations regarding transgender individuals, following the recent ruling of the UK Supreme Court," stating, "Transgender women will not be allowed to compete in women's football in England starting June 1."
The FA noted, "As the governing body of national sports, our role is to ensure as many people as possible can participate in football, and this must be operated within the international regulations and legal framework established by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and FIFA."
It further stated, "The policy allowing transgender women to participate in women's football until now was also based on these principles and implemented after legal advice from experts."
However, the FA explained, "This matter is a very complex subject. If there are fundamental changes in the law, science, or the way policies are implemented in grassroots football, we have maintained our stance that we will review and amend our policy as necessary."
The FA reported, "After the UK Supreme Court deemed the restrictions on transgender athletes' participation valid on April 16, we concluded that changing the policy was unavoidable. Therefore, starting June 1, transgender women will no longer be able to compete in women's football in England."
Finally, the FA noted, "We fully understand that this decision may be painful for those who wish to continue playing the sport they love, regardless of their gender identity."
It added that "we plan to contact the transgender athletes currently registered in women's football individually to explain the details of this policy change and guide them on how they can participate in the football community in the future."
[OSEN]