Jamie

I heard about the West Ham LGBT supporters club just as it was starting and decided to join. My original reason for joining was to show support to the group as, as with most new things, numbers matter. I live outside London so knew that I would never be an active member in terms of attending events or being part of a committee.

My first London Pride was taking part in the parade with POI as was the latest (2018). So much fun to be part of it whilst showing people that you can be LGBT and a football fan.

Although there are thousands of people at the game it can also be isolating as I attend alone. I love having the chance to catch up with supporters from diverse backgrounds that get together because of our love for West Ham and where our sexual and/or gender identity doesn’t need to be hidden. Over the years I’ve got to as many pre-match socials as possible and met some fantastic people. POI welcomes all, whether they can attend regularly or not and our opposition supporters.

It’s great to see West Ham acknowledge their LGBT fans and POI have been instrumental in achieving this.