People are welcoming: Tournament marks start of FA ban on trans women

London-based Goal Diggers FC compete in event aimed at showing solidarity

- Suzanne Wrack

Yesterday morning more than 100 players gathered in north London to compete in an inclusive women's football tournament, to protest against the ban on transgender women in women's football on the day it came into effect.

Last month the Football Association announced that trans women would no longer be able to compete in women's football as a result of the supreme court's ruling on 16 April that the terms "women" and "sex" in the Equality Act 2010 refer only to biological women and biological sex. This is believed to affect 28 FA-registered trans women.

Before the ban trans women had been able to play in the women's game if they agreed to meet criteria including providing medical records showing their testosterone levels were below a specified level, records of hormone therapy and having a "match observation" by an FA official who would have "ultimate discretion" on whether they could continue to play on a case-by-case basis.

The FA said its previous policy was based on its aim of "making football accessible to as many people as possible, operating within the law and international football policy defined by Uefa and Fifa" and was "supported by expert legal advice".