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FA to ban transgender women from playing women’s football in England

The Football Association has announced that it will ban transgender women from playing in women’s football from 1 June. It follows the ruling from the supreme court that the term “woman” in the Equality Act refers only to a biological woman.

The decision comes barely a month after the FA ruled that transgender women could continue to play in the women’s game as long as they kept their testosterone levels below 5 n/mol for at least 12 months.

However the FA has performed a significant U-turn after receiving legal advice, two days after the Scottish Football Association banned transgender women from participating in women’s football.

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“As the governing body of the national sport, our role is to make football accessible to as many people as possible, operating within the law and international football policy defined by Uefa and Fifa,” the FA said.

“Our current policy, which allows transgender women to participate in the women’s game, was based on this principle and supported by expert legal advice.

“This is a complex subject, and our position has always been that if there was a material change in law, science, or the operation of the policy in grassroots football then we would review it and change it if necessary.

“The supreme court’s ruling on the 16 April means that we will be changing our policy. Transgender women will no longer be able to play in women’s football in England, and this policy will be implemented from 1 June 2025.”

This decision is understood to affect 20 registered transgender players in England, and the FA said it would reach out to them to explain the changes.

“We understand that this will be difficult for people who simply want to play the game they love in the gender by which they identify, and we are contacting the registered transgender women currently playing to explain the changes and how they can continue to stay involved in the game,” the FA said.

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