FIFA has announced that transgender women will be banned from participating in women’s football in England starting June 1. The decision, confirmed Thursday by the Football Association (FA), follows a landmark ruling by the UK Supreme Court on April 15, which legally defined “woman” based on biological sex.
This seismic ruling has forced a complete U-turn by the FA, which had just days earlier—on April 11—introduced updated transgender eligibility guidelines that allowed limited participation based on hormone therapy and medical documentation. That policy has now been scrapped. Only individuals assigned female at birth will be eligible to compete in the female category, the FA confirmed.
“This is a nuanced issue,” the FA stated. “Our approach has always been subject to change based on developments in law, science, and the realities of implementation at the grassroots level. With the legal definition now clarified, we’ve had to align accordingly.”
The policy change has ignited intense debate. Supporters of the decision, such as Fiona McAnena from the human rights group Sex Matters, praised it as “long overdue” and criticized the previous guidelines as “illogical.” However, LGBTQ+ advocates and inclusion campaigners, including Natalie Washington of the Football vs Transphobia initiative, fear the ruling will deter transgender athletes from participating in sports altogether.
“What we’re likely to see is a chilling effect,” Washington told BBC Sport. “When decisions like this are made at the highest level, it often triggers increased hostility on the ground.”
The ripple effect is already visible. England Netball has confirmed it will ban transgender women from the female division starting September 1, redefining eligibility categories into “female,” “male,” and “mixed,” with the female category reserved strictly for those assigned female at birth. Similarly, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is expected to follow suit, with a board meeting scheduled Friday to finalize a total ban at all levels of the women’s game.
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Crucially, the FA becomes the first major football body to revise its transgender policy following the Supreme Court decision, signaling what may become a trend across sports in the UK and beyond. Already, sports like athletics, swimming, cycling, and eight-ball pool have enacted outright bans on transgender women in women’s categories.
Last year, British Triathlon broke ground by creating an “open category” for transgender and non-binary athletes—a model some now suggest could be replicated across other sports seeking to balance inclusion and fairness.
As of last month, there were just 20 registered transgender women participating in amateur football across England. None currently play in professional leagues in the UK.
Anti-discrimination organization Kick It Out warned that the legal ruling could carry “significant repercussions” for sports culture in the UK and urged all stakeholders “to engage with each other in a respectful and compassionate manner.”
With governing bodies scrambling to update policies, it’s clear that sport in the UK is entering a new and contentious era—one where the definition of fairness, inclusion, and identity will be debated both on and off the pitch.
