Mick Hartley

The Flying Bats is a women’s football team in Sydney that includes up to five men, and – what a surprise – keeps on winning. And they plan to keep on winning, with the help of the Northern Suburbs Football Association. From Reduxx:

Women in one of the top football leagues in Sydney, Australia, have been banned from protesting against a “trans-inclusive” team that has been known to have up to 5 male players. The women of the Northern Suburbs Football Association were reportedly forced to sign an agreement that explicitly barred them from forfeiting matches against the Flying Bats LGBTQIA+ football club.

The Flying Bats describe themselves on their website as “the biggest LGBTQIA+ women’s and non-binary football club in the world.” Originally founded in 1985 as a football club for lesbians, they now welcome “everybody from across the rainbow family… [and] especially encourage trans and gender-diverse folks to join us, with research showing that access to safe community sport can help improve the mental and physical well-being of minority and oppressed groups.”

In March 2024, Reduxx reported that five male players, who identified as transgender or non-binary, joined the team for the winter 2024 Premier League of the North West Sydney Football Association (NWSFA) that was to take place over the coming months.

The team dominated the pre-season Beryl Ackroyd Cup, netting a $1,000 prize. With the news that the men had joined, racking up victory after victory, 24 women dropped out of playing in the league in protest. The decision was influenced by reports that the men had repeatedly injured some of the female players to the point of no longer being able to play football.

Keep quite and help the men feel good about themselves. It’s what sport’s all about.