GFSN National League

Infobox sports league
logo=
sport=Football
founded=2002
teams=10
country=GBR
champion=London Falcons

The GFSN National League (often referred to as the GNL) is an amateur league competition for gay football clubs across the United Kingdom. The league is associated with the Gay Football Supporters Network (GFSN) - a football supporters group catering for the LGBT community. The league was formed in 2002 with four founder members, and has steadily grown to ten teams since its inception.

There is a strong feeling of community across the league, born out of the GFSN. Over a match-day weekend, it is likely that both teams will socialise before (and after) the match, which has led to close friendships, friendly rivalries, and even relationships forming. This community-ethos and friendliness of the league is an important factor in its success, although in recent times a very definite competitive edge has started to appear.

History

In the middle of the 1990s a number of gay football clubs were forming across the United Kingdom, primarily to offer LGBT people in their local region the opportunity to play football in a welcoming and friendly environment. As the teams grew in size, 5-a-side tournaments and 11-a-side friendly fixtures were organised between teams.

Eventually in 2002, a competitive league was formed, founded by four teams; Yorkshire Terriers F.C, Leicester Wildecats F.C, Leftfooters F.C. (based in London), and the now defunct Bristol Panthers F.C. The first GNL fixture kicked-off on Sunday 29th September 2002, with Leicester Wildecats defeating Yorkshire Terriers 5-1.

The Gay National League has no affiliation with the Football Association (FA), and is not linked to the National League System, although the GFSN itself does have a relationship with the FA in its attempts to eradicate discrimination and homophobia from football.

Format And Rules

The GFSN National League does not require teams to "register" players in advance of a season/match. A team can field players of any sexuality or gender, making the league unique in that both woman and men take part together. Players do not have to be pre-registered before they play, unlike normal local amateur leagues.

The competition rules are exactly the same as normal 11-a-side FA rules, with one alteration to Law 3 - The Number of Players. Teams are permitted to make rolling substitutions, and players are permitted to be substituted back on to the field of play even if they have been earlier substituted off the pitch.

Inaugural 2002/2003 Season

The season ended in exhilarating (and some say controversial) style with the Bristol Panthers becoming the first GNL Champions, after defeating Leftfooters FC 16-0. Bristol needed to win the match by 13 clear goals to grasp the championship, and rumors consumed the league that Bristol had fielded 'ringers' to ensure the result.

As the league does not register players this rumor was impossible to prove, and the Bristol teamsheet for the Leftfooters match was broadly similar to previous games in the season. However, there is now a strong sense amongst the competing teams that the fielding of "ringers" should be avoided, and all players must subscribe to the ethos of the league. In reality, it's almost impossible to regulate this philosophy and is reliant on the goodwill of the clubs.

Previous Winners

Trivia

* Ian Collins of Yorkshire Terriers is credited with scoring the first ever goal in the GFSN National League.
* Leicester Wildecat's Wayne Carter is the current all-time record goal-scorer with 43 goals (including 2007/08 season)
* Two-times GFSN National League Champions Bristol Panthers F.C. withdrew from the league before the start of the 2005/06 season due to lack of players.
* GFC Bournemouth won the 2006/7 title and the 06/07 GNL cup in their first season in the competition.
* London Falcons FC won the 2007/8 title in their first season in the competition
* Chris Horne of Birmingham Blaze FC is credited as both the youngest player in the league at 17 years old, and the youngest goalscorer in the league (17yo, vs. Nottingham Ballbois FC, January 6 2008).
* Gareth Miller of Leicester Wildecats is believed to be the oldest goalscorer in the league (56 years old, vs London Titans, November 5 2006)
* Heather Buxton of Leicester Wildecats is the first female Manager in the league (2007-2008)
* No club has managed to retain the League title, although Bristol Panthers F.C. (now dis-banded) did win twice in three years and Leicester Wildecats have finished 2nd three times.
*Bournemouth GFC became the most successful side in a single season in 2006/2007 season winning the GFSN League, GN Cup, L.U.L and the Annual Leeds 5 a side tournament
*Luke Marshall of Birmingham Blaze scored the quickest goal in GFSN League history in the last game of the 2006-2007 season taking only 11 seconds to score past Brighton Bandits.

Other Clubs

Stonewall Football Club, a gay team based in London, do not compete in the Gay National League, preferring to take part in the Middlesex county league - although they do have second and third teams that take part in friendlies and other tournaments. Village Manchester FC also compete in their local FA league.

There are also several teams around the UK & Ireland: Mersey Marauders, (Liverpool); Dublin Devils (Dublin); Romans AFC (London) Cardiff Dragons (Cardiff - also known as "Ddraig Caerdydd") and Newcastle Panthers (Newcastle-upon-Tyne & Gateshead). All new clubs are eligible to apply for entry to the league, although each are at varying stages of development and entry into the league is decided at a meeting of managers from the current clubs.

Other Leagues

The only other gay football league in Britain is The London Unity League (otherwise known as the L.U.L.) which caters for less-competitive players representing GFSN clubs in the London area (generally), as well as sides not yet accepted into the GFSN League, such as Romans FC.

In the 2006/2007 season Bournmouth GFC won the L.U.L completing a triple for the year, having also won the GFSN league, GN Cup.

In the 2007/2008 season, London Falcons won the L.U.L..

References

ee also

* Gay Football Supporters Network

External links

* [http://www.gfsn.org.uk/ Gay Football Supporters Network homepage]
* [http://www.gfsnleague.org/ GFSN League homepage]
* [http://www.nottinghamballbois.com/ Nottingham Ballbois F.C. homepage]
* [http://www.vmfc.co.uk/ Village Manchester F.C. homepage]
* [http://www.terriersfc.org/ Yorkshire Terriers F.C. homepage]
* [http://www.wildecats.co.uk/ Leicester Wildecats F.C. homepage]
* [http://www.stonewallfc.com/ Stonewall F.C. homepage]
* [http://www.dublindevilsfc.com/ Dublin Devils F.C. homepage]
* [http://www.mmfootball.co.uk/ Mersey Marauders homepage]
* [http://www.hotscotsfc.com/ HotScots F.C. homepage]
* [http://www.londonfalconsfc.com/ London Falcons F.C. homepage]
* [http://www.leftfooters.org.uk/ Leftfooters F.C. homepage]
* [http://www.birmingham-blaze.co.uk/ Birmingham Blaze F.C. homepage]
* [http://www.banditsfc.org/ Brighton Bandits F.C. homepage]
* [http://www.londontitans.co.uk/ London Titans F.C. homepage]
* [http://www.gfcbournemouth.co.uk/ GFC Bournemouth & Hampshire F.C. homepage]
* [http://www.londonromans.com/ London Romans F.C. homepage]
* [http://www.cardiffdragonsfc.co.uk/ Cardiff Dragons F.C. homepage]