Doncaster Rovers support Pride

Doncaster Rovers will again be supporting its town’s annual Pride celebration this year.

The football club will be making its own stand against homophobia in football when its home ground the Keepmoat Stadium will be the venue for hosting Doncaster’s sixth Pride festival.

It will be the second successive year the League One club has staged the event which celebrates the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community and attractions thousands of people each year.

Doncaster’s Pride committee spokesman Jen Dewsnap hopes other football teams will follow Rovers’ example.

She said: “We approached them and they received us as they would anyone wanting to use the stadium. There was no hesitation on their part at all. They have been enormously supportive and extremely professional.

“The entire team at the Keepmoat Stadium accommodate our every whim and our planning is made so much easier because of this, I guess that's their professionalism, but every member of the team is so supportive of Pride.

“The venue is a prestigious place for us and being linked to the Keepmoat Stadium helps enormously.

“Being gay really shouldn't be a big deal and hosting a Pride at the stadium proves Doncaster really is showing the rest of the country that that's what they believe.

“Let's use Doncaster as an example. Let's tackle the awful issue of homophobia and football, let’s make a statement and hope others follow.”

Gavin Baldwin, chief executive of Doncaster Rovers, added: “We work closely with our local community and its diverse members, this sees us working with a wide range of organisations and we see our growing partnership with Doncaster Gay Pride is a huge success.

“This is a relationship that we are sure will thrive, one that we are proud of, with an organisation that we fully support.

“Each year the Gay Pride event attracts thousands of people and we are pleased that this partnership means that the annual event is now hosted at the Keepmoat Stadium. We will continue to work closely with this organisation to help them to achieve their aims and make their event the best it can be.”

Premier League side Liverpool, a supporter of The Justin Campaign, have also backed its city’s Pride event in August and its men’s and women’s teams will be taking part in the parade.

Doncaster’s Pride will be held on August 5. For more details, visit www.doncasterpride.co.uk