England captain Leah Williamson dons rainbow armband for Women’s Euro 2025

England captain Leah Williamson sported an LGBTQ+ rainbow armband during the Lionesses’ opening Women’s Euro match against France, which ended in a 2-1 defeat for the Lionesses.

Williamson, who is bisexual and plays for the Women’s Super League club Arsenal and captains the England women’s national team, wore the Pride armband after it was blocked by FIFA from being worn during the World Cup.

UEFA has welcomed the visible celebration of LGBTQ+ Pride at the Women’s Euro 2025, with team captains like Switzerland’s Lia Wälti, Norway’s Ada Hegerberg, and Germany’s Giulia Gwinn proudly wearing the rainbow armbands. 

The move follows FIFA banning similar symbols at recent men’s World Cups. 

@pinknews

Rainbow captain’s armbands return at Women’s Euro 2025. UEFA has welcomed a visible celebration of LGBTQ+ pride at the Women’s Euro, with team captains like Switzerland’s Lia Wälti, Norway’s Ada Hegerberg, and Germany’s Giulia Gwinn proudly wearing rainbow armbands. After FIFA banned similar symbols at recent men’s World Cups, UEFA’s approval marks a bold embrace of diversity and inclusion. The German Football Association worked closely with UEFA to permit the rainbow design instead of the standard “Respect” armband. Giulia Gwinn confirmed she would wear it during her side’s match against Poland, saying, “There was never any question of changing the armband, if the opportunity arose.” The return of the rainbow armband coincides with an increasing number of openly LGBTQ+ players at the tournament, over 20% of squad members have publicly come out. This marks a significant shift in representation compared to previous years and underscores women’s football as a pathfinder for inclusion. #euros #lgbtqia #lesbian #football #pride #prideflag

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The German Football Association worked closely with the UEFA to permit the rainbow design instead of the standard “Respect” armband. 

Gwinn confirmed she would wear the armband during her side’s match against Poland, saying: “There was never any question of changing the armband, if the opportunity arose.” 

The return of the rainbow armband coincides with an increasing number of LGBTQ+ players at the tournament, with more than 20 per cent of squad members having come out publicly. 

This marks a significant shift in representation compared to previous years and underscores women’s football as a pathfinder for inclusion. 

The Women’s Euro’s runs from 2 July until 27 July, and the Lionesses are in Group D along with Wales, the Netherlands and France – seen by many pundits as the toughest.

There are a number of LGBTQ+ stars in the squad, including Lucy Bronze, Jess Carter, Lauren Hemp, Beth Mead, Keira Walsh and Leah Williamson. Manager Sarina Wiegman previously told PinkNews that she was “excited to see what we are capable of this summer”. 

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