Transgender women barred from women's football by English and Scottish FAs

TRANSGENDER WOMEN WILL no longer be able to play in women’s football from 1 June, England’s governing Football Association has announced.

The FA said it had updated its policy following last month’s UK Supreme Court ruling that the terms “women” and “sex” in the Equality Act do not include transgender women.

The FA’s transgender inclusion policy had been updated just prior to that ruling, and continued to allow transgender women to play in women’s football provided they reduced testosterone levels.

Those rule changes gave the FA ultimate discretion on permitting a trans woman to play, with consideration given to safety and fairness issues.

Now though the FA has gone further and barred transgender women from the women’s game.

“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 in a statement.

The FA had said earlier this week it was “carefully reviewing” its policy, while the Scottish Football Association has also now updated its policy to reflect that only biological females can play in competitive female football from the start of the 2025-26 season.

The Supreme Court ruling clarified some of the terms used in the Equality Act. Within that, the court ruled that Section 195 of the Act, which allows the lawful exclusion of athletes from gender-affected sports based on sex, was “plainly predicated on biological sex” rather than certificated sex.

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The FA added: “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.

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.

“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.”

Only a small number of transgender women – around 20 – have been able to play in the grassroots game this season.

Former FA chairman Lord Triesman told The Telegraph at the time of the ruling: “The pitiful excuses of some sports bodies, and especially the FA, have been shown to be unlawful.

“Women’s sport, as in all else, is defined by biology facts. There is no room for alternative propositions and the bodies concerned must reform and comply with the law at once or certainly face constant legal challenges.”

Football’s world governing body FIFA has been reviewing its policy on this topic over the last several years, and has been contacted for comment on the changes made by the English and Scottish FAs.

Pool updated its transgender policy last month after a legal challenge in that sport led to the commissioning of a report which found it was a gender-affected sport. Snooker’s world governing body, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), has also confirmed it is reviewing its policy in light of the Supreme Court ruling.

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