Gay Football Supporter's Network
Playing
Yes its that time of year again! Get ready for the GFSN 2010 get-together in sunny Blackpool.
Here’s the full details for this year’s activities.
Blackpool 11th 12th 13th June
Friday 11th – Welcome Party 7pm
The Flying Handbag will be hosting the welcome party on the evening and we are going back to basics. Friday is once again a football shirt night, so wear your colours with pride. As it’s the opening day of the world cup, the venue will be showing Uruguay v France game which kicks-off at 7.30. Once the game has finished we’ll be revealing the draw for the tournament on Saturday.
Saturday 12th – Tournament
The tournament will start on Saturday at 11am, this is due to the number of teams we envisage entering. Can all club managers please let us know how many teams you will be entering by 31 May. If individuals want to enter please let us know and we’ll arrange teams accordingly. The draw will be done before hand due to the number of teams, but will try to keep teams from the same club apart. Everyone playing in the tournament needs to be a GFSN member and this will be checked on the day. We also need a pool of refs and volunteers for the admin side, can you get back to us if you are willing to help out on the day.
We want as many supports that don’t play to attend this weekend and as the world cup is on, for those not wanting to play football we are looking for a venue that will be showing Korea v Greece 12.30 kick off and Argentina v Nigeria 3pm kick-off.
Then it’s onto the big one England v USA. We have Flamingo’s nightclub with 2 large screen showing the game exclusively for the GFSN. Doors will open at 7pm and for the 7.30 kick-off and 200 plus GFSN members can watch the game together. So get ready to wave your St Georges flags and for those north of the border the stars and stripes.
Sunday 13th - AGM
The AGM will start at 12pm, but will be held in a venue that will show the remaining game in England’s group. Further details to follow, but the AGM will be in a separate room to the football and bar.
Thanks to ITP Leisure (www.itponline.co.uk) we have access to all their venues free of charge all weekend and they have also kindly donated £1000 for the privilege of hosting the GFSN.
Hotels are booking up quick, so if you’ve not booked yet, please do so. Most of the gay run and friendly hotels are on Lord Street, right next to the venues.
After an extremely close vote (announced at the GFSN Christmas party) Blackpool was selected as the designated venue of the 2010 GFSN get-together. The get-together will be a celebration of the GFSN with events organised around the three strands of Supporting, Playing and Campaigning.
The events will take place from Friday the 11th to Sunday the 13th of June 2010.
More details to come but here’s a brief overview:
Supporting
‘Get yer kit on!’ footie shirt party and pub crawl out and about in Blackpool on the Friday night.
Meet up to watch the England vs USA World Cup game on the Saturday night.
Playing
GFSN national tournament on Saturday afternoon with over 150 players from all over the UK and Ireland.
Campaigning
Report on the past year’s initiatives at the AGM on the Sunday.
In a thrilling match in Leeds today, Nottingham BallBois beat Mersey Marauders 1-0 in the final of the Yorkshire Terriers’ 2010 tournament. A great weekend was had by all with over 200 players and supporters turning up for the Terriers’ 13th annual celebration of football (and alcohol).
Saturday night was spent in various Leeds night-spots after the draw was held in the Mission2 club. Many thanks to Mission2 and The Viaduct pub who hosted the prize-giving and provided a fantastic hot carvery buffet!
- Mike and Andrew between games.
GFSN members across the UK have recently voted to hold their 2009 National Get-together in Cardiff, South Wales.
The last time the city hosted the gathering was in 2003. However, with the recent addition of an LGBTI-friendly football team in the region (Cardiff Dragons FC) the GFSN returns to South Wales.
Further details will be announced shortly about dates and information. We will shortly be launching a mini-site - http://cardiff2009.gfsn.org.uk with all the info you need
The GFSN National League is the only 11-a-side football league in the world for LGBT-friendly football teams. We exist primarily for LGBT players and their friends to play competitive football in an accepting envinronment.
Teams from Birmingham, Bournemouth, Brighton, Leicester, London, Edinburgh, Nottingham and Yorkshire will participate in matches played between September and May to decide the 2008/2009 league title.
There is also an expanded cup competition, involving a further 4 LGBT-friendly teams across the UK. If you are interested in participating or supporting - contact your nearest team for further details