Transgender women will be banned from playing the UK women’s soccer team from June 1st, the Football Association, the governing body of sports in the country, said.
In a statement, the Football Association, known as the FA, said it had changed its policy as a result of a Supreme Court decision last month.
The FA is the latest institution to update policies as a result of the ruling, and all public and private institutions in the UK must incorporate them into internal practices regarding unity services and spaces.
The association said the Supreme Court’s decision required that it be changed. This stated, “trans women will no longer be able to play British women’s soccer.” The ban covers amateur soccer and local leagues managed by the FA, as well as professional games.
“We understand that this is difficult for people who want to play games they love with the gender they identify, and we are reaching out to registered trans women who are currently playing to explain how they can explain the change and how they will remain involved in the game,” the association added.
Other sports organizations are in the process of developing policies stemming from the Supreme Court decision. The Scottish Football Association also announced from the beginning of the 2025-26 season that “only competitive girls and biological women in women’s soccer will be allowed.”
Pride Sports, a British LGBTQ group that runs a campaign to fight transphobia in football, said it was “deeply saddened” by the announcements in the UK and Scotland.
The group said they knew less than 30 trans women active in women’s soccer in both countries, and most of them knew they had “played for years and years.”
“In a few weeks, they will lose not only the familiar locations in football, but many of the physical and mental health benefits that arise from being part of a welcoming team environment,” the statement added. “One outcome of these bans will inevitably be an increase in cases of transphobia in football.”
Patrick Hodge, the court’s vice president who announced the Supreme Court’s ruling last month, said the unanimous decision refers to biological women and biological sex in the Equality Act of 2010.
However, he added that the decision is not “at a different cost, one or more groups of our society,” but that trans people continue to continue protecting against discrimination under another part of the law.
The verdict was celebrated by supporters of campaigners who led to the case, including the author J.K. Rowling, but human rights groups and trans rights campaigners raised vigilance over the outcome.
This case focused on the definition of women, but also applies to trans men, meaning they are classified as women under the law.
When contacted by the New York Times, a Football Association spokesman could not comment on what the Supreme Court ruling means for trans men playing on the men’s soccer team, saying he would make the public public to make further policy changes.
