Gay rugby club Manchester Village Spartans granted official team status
Manchester Village Spartans are celebrating their new sporting status after being recognised as a Rugby Football Union (RFU) Accredited Club.
The northern rugby club, which is for LGBT male players, received the status, which will allow them to recruit and retain players and coach the club to the desired level they need to potentially become champions.
“We want to help The Manchester Village Spartans continue to successfully attract members and run their club well so they can go on thriving at the very heart of the LGBT and local Sale communities they’re a proud part of,” said Bryan Davies, President of Cheshire RFU.
“Our club’s nearly 20-years-old and we’ve gone through some significant growth over the past three years to now running three men’s teams and a mixed-gender Touch Rugby team,” said Dean Bee, Chairman of Manchester Village Spartans.
“Being RFU accredited is a great way of being able to work closely with our RFU Rugby Development Officer to find ways of getting our club to the next level and continue to provide a pathway to rugby for adults regardless of gender, sexuality or rugby ability.”
“There’s no barrier in terms of sexuality. You can be whatever sexuality you want, as long as players stand by our principles of teamwork, respect, employment, sportsmanship and rugby ethos,” Gareth Longley, a former player and coach said to Mancunian Matters.
“A good 80-90% of players are gay, or bi-sexual. It’s actually great to have people mixing,” he added.
The club was formed in 1998, and is based in Sale, Manchester.
They will join 600 other clubs who have the status, including the Kings Cross Steelers.
