On Sunday 22 May 2016 the first ever Charlton Athletic FC vs Homophobia Football Tournament took place at the Valley, SE7. The event included teams from Proud Valiants, the CAFC official LGBT Fans Group, Bexley Invicta FC, a local LGBT Friendly Football Club and a team from the University of Greenwich Staff & Students Network.
The event was a huge success with nearly 200 supporters sitting in the West Stand watching the football unfold in glorious May sunshine. The first match sore Bexley Invicta FC come back from 2-0 down against Proud Valiants with a last second equaliser from Sam Timms, The second match saw University of Greenwich beat Bexley Invicta FC 1-0. The final match saw University of Greenwich draw 1-1 with Proud Valiants.
The end result meant that the University of Greenwich team walked away with the trophy, but two draws from Team Proud Valiants on their debut football matches was great to see!
Everyone involved with the even, from the organisers to the supporters and players thoroughly enjoyed the day. It was great to see so many people turning out to mark this landmark event, Special thanks goes to Lisa Squires of Charltitn Athletic FC, Michael Seeraj of Charlton Athletic Community Trust, Rob Harris of Proud Valiants, Gary Ginnaw and Paul Driscoll of Bexley Invicta FC, Mark Anderson and Neil Beasley of University of Greenwich and Anwar Uddin of the Football Supporters Network for organising such a iconic event!
The official report along with photos of the event can be found at http://www.cafc.co.uk/news/article/charlton-athletic-vs-homophobia-proud-valiants-3122097.aspx