Players from Saltdean United Women FC celebrate winning the Sussex Women's Challenge Cup Final in April 2024 | Simon Roe - @nonleaguesnapper

It’s a photo of pure football joy — Saltdean United Women FC celebrating the club’s first-ever victory in the county Challenge Cup.

Taken on an April evening in southern England at the end of last season, the image shows jubilant players surrounding their captain who is holding the trophy aloft.

One of the players pictured, goalkeeper Blair Hamilton, is trans. She was in her second season with the Sussex team, at the fifth tier of the women’s football pyramid in England. The competition at this level is amateur but clubs have strong ambitions to rise through the leagues and win silverware.

Saltdean’s spirit and togetherness shine through in the photo. “It was an honor to lift that trophy with the girls,” skipper Georgia Bridges said.

Nearly five months later, Bridges is still at the club, but several of her cup-winning teammates — including Hamilton — have moved on. In her captain’s notes for Saltdean’s first home game of the 2024-25 campaign, Bridges specifically mentioned their former ‘keeper.

“I am appalled by the recent transphobic abuse aimed toward one of our ex-players, Blair Hamilton. Blair is a truly talented footballer, an even better human, staff and players were honored to have her at the club.

“We will continue to stand by Blair like we have done for the past two seasons.”

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The show of solidarity from Saltdean will have heartened Hamilton, who is eligible to play in the women’s game under a decade-old Football Association policy. She has four years of experience with women’s clubs in the Sussex area.

During the summer, Hamilton relocated to the Manchester area, having accepted a new job in academic research. Her work includes scientific studies into the performance of trans athletes.

Her roles as a footballer and as a researcher have made her a target for people opposed to trans women participating in sports’ female category. In recent weeks, vitriol directed at her online has escalated.

The trigger for much of this was an article that was published last month.

Hamilton had been searching for a new club situated closer to where she now lives. That’s when an offer came through from one of Saltdean’s Premier Division rivals in the London and South East Women’s Regional Football League.

She agreed to travel south and play for Sutton United Women FC, whose manager, Lucy Clark, is also trans. Six days after Hamilton had made her debut, a national paper ran a story about the signing, on the eve of Sutton’s next match at Ebbsfleet.

The paper’s take on the news was centered on both the player and the manager being trans. It was quickly amplified across X, including by anti-trans influencers. Some users sent hateful tweets and messages directly to the accounts of Hamilton and Clark.

The following morning, it was announced by Sutton that the match due to be played that afternoon had been postponed.

More articles about Hamilton were then published on national sports news websites, with some suggesting that Sutton’s players had caused the postponement by refusing to play alongside her.

However, Sutton United’s board of directors issued a statement insisting that “an abundance of caution” on their part had resulted in the game being called off. A club source also told the BBC that the players “fully support the manager and Blair.”

Since then, Sutton United Women have played two league matches, losing away to Barking and at home to Saltdean.

Hamilton didn’t feature in either game but Outsports understands her absence was for family reasons and that she hopes to return to action later this month.

‘LGBTQ community so strong’

Saltdean midfielder Naomi Robinson played alongside Hamilton for two seasons.

“I know I speak on behalf of all her former teammates when I say that we’re horrified at the level of abuse Blair has received,” Robinson told Outsports.

“We’ve seen photos being taken from her social media accounts and used without her consent or knowledge by various newspapers. In some instances, these images have been used in the wrong context and published in articles that contain misinformation about her.”

Another of the goalkeeper’s former teammates is Hannah Sturdy, who says it was “a pleasure” to play with Hamilton. Sturdy has also moved on from Saltdean in recent months — she is still playing fifth-tier football and says there is broad support for Hamilton at this level.

“If you speak to anyone I know in Saltdean’s league or the league I’m in now, we all want Blair there,” she said.

“I’ve never seen any players have a negative opinion on this. It’s always people on the outside.”

Sturdy describes this type of unwanted attention on the fifth tier as “horrendous” and highlights the negative impact. “It takes away from the game and it’s really disrespectful,” she adds.

“Emotionally, it’s a lot for all of us. Blair is part of our family. Many of us are gay women, and the LGBTQ community is so strong within women’s football. Having that come under threat affects us a lot.”

Robinson highlights the recent media articles, many published by outlets that have rarely covered women’s football at this level before. She says some have contained inaccuracies and false reporting, harming Saltdean’s reputation.

She feels the situation surrounding the Sutton match postponement was “a great shame” and that it is her understanding that the players in their women’s team were “firmly behind” Hamilton.

The statement from Sutton’s board referred to “caution” and with the sudden, intense media scrutiny placed upon them, it is not surprising that there has been no further public comment on the matter from anyone at the club.

Rejecting the fear of trans athletes

Meanwhile, in the northwest of England, a solidarity movement is growing in support of Hamilton, initiated by a seven-a-side team for which the goalkeeper has been playing casually.

Lez Club 7 FC is among more than 30 teams in the AF (Alternative Football) League, which operates women’s competitions in Manchester and Liverpool. The clubs are fully inclusive of trans and nonbinary players.

The names of many of its teams reflect their LGBTQ representation. Over 400 footballers regularly participate in the AF League, which sits outside of FA regulations and has won awards for its community-focused approach, ensuring everyone can access the game.

Tackling exclusion is one of its core values. As Lez Club 7 phrased it in a post on Instagram: “Transphobia has no place in football.”

The post continued: “We want to make it clear that we stand with Blair and will continue to support her no matter what.”

Another AF League team, Lez Be United FC, also posted a statement. “Those that would try to tell you otherwise, do not speak for our diverse and inclusive footballing communities,” it read. “They may claim to speak for us, but do not be fooled, they only seek to instill fear.”

The many supportive comments on these posts echo the strength of feeling expressed by Hamilton’s former Saltdean teammates. AF League clubs are firmly rejecting the online discourse that suggests trans footballers are somehow unwelcome or that they make the women’s game unsafe.

When that conversation spirals towards hate speech, it is the trans women themselves who become lightning rods for online abuse.

Fifth-tier football in England rarely receives so much attention. While the majority of that has been unwanted, it has at least added to a sense of unity at this level and the amateur leagues below.

That’s something that is captured in the Saltdean cup final photo, says Sturdy. “Everybody at the club was a massive advocate for Blair and really protected her.”

Robinson has such fond memories of that night in April. She believes what has happened in recent weeks should serve as a rallying cry.

“Football is for everyone and it’s now more important than ever that the footballing community stands beside Blair and other trans athletes.”