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Football v HomophobiaAuthor: Football v Homophobia
The Football v Homophobia podcast brings you all the latest news and updates from the campaign and beyond! Language: en Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Gay former footballer Ouissem Belgacem on his impact in France, the World Cup Pride Match, and his sporting heroes
Wednesday, 24 June, 2026
How many talented players give up on football at a young age because of homophobia? Ouissem Belgacem was one of those players, a highly-rated defender in Toulouse’s academy and a Tunisia youth international. But he quit football, aged just 20, pushed out by the sport he still loves.Belgacem is now one of the most influential LGBTQ voices in France. He’s an author, public speaker and now a documentary film-maker, and he’s just been named on the Outsports Soccer Power 26 list of impactful LGBTQ people in the men’s game, from around the world.In 2021, he gave FvH Podcast host Jon Holmes an exclusive feature interview for Sky Sports. Five years later, Jon and Ouissem reunite for a conversation about his inspirational work, his disappointment in the French league and FIFA, his thoughts on the World Cup and the ‘Pride Match’ between Egypt and Iran in Seattle, and why his current role-model athletes come from tennis and basketball, not football.Tune in to hear from one a former footballer who didn’t just come out publicly as gay but has now dedicated his life to making the game better for the next generation.“I'm not sure I feel proud of being gay or being Arab. I think what I'm proud of is the journey I took to be OK with who I am and to celebrate my identities."Please support the FvH Podcast by leaving a rating and a review. Hit subscribe so you never miss an episode, and share far and wide to help us build our audience.Follow us on social media - we're active on Instagram, Bluesky, Facebook and other platforms.LinksFootball v Homophobia - https://www.footballvhomophobia.com/ Ouissem on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ouissembelgacemMe & You by MusicbyAden | https://soundcloud.com/musicbyaden Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unportedhttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en_US
