The Football Association has a responsibility to regulate participation of persons as competitors in football matches to ensure that it provides fair competition and has regard for the safety of all competitors.
Football is a gender affected sport where the physical strength, stamina or physique of an average person of one gender would put them at an advantage or disadvantage to a person of the other gender. This policy manages the enquiries concerning persons who have legally acquired a change to their birth gender.
Transsexual and transgender persons are protected by legislation and discrimination and have the ability to obtain legal recognition of their acquired genders by way of a ‘Gender recognition Certificate’.
The policy adopted status that all enquiries concerning transgender/transsexual people will be passed to the Football Association Equality Manager, who will notify the Head of Regulation and an appointed medical representative. All matters will be handles sensitively and confidently.
Any male to female transsexual who underwent sex reassignment surgery before puberty will be accepted as female, the same principal applied to female to male reassignment.
In accordance with Rule 13 individuals undergoing gender reassignment after puberty may be eligible for participation in their acquired gender. The individual will be asked to disclose sufficient information to ascertain that conditions have been met:
• Surgical anatomical changes, including external genitalia changes and gonadectomy must be completed two years prior to any application
• Legal recognition of the acquired gender must be confined by the Gender Recognition panel
• Hormonal therapy must have been administered in a verifiable manner and for a sufficient length of time to minimise gender related advantages in football matches.
The Football Association Equality Manager, Head of Football Regulation and a medical representative will consider the evidence on a case by case basis.
A person shall not be entitled to play football matches in their acquired gender until such a time as they have provided evidence that the criteria set out above and has met with the Football Association is satisfaction.
Linda Ennis and Gary Norman
September 2008
Reviewed July 2009