After the first ever Pride Game in the A-Leagues last month, Adelaide United’s Josh Cavallo and Izzy Hodgson joined Footballers’ Voice host Jake Barker-Daish to reflect on the impact of the initiative on them and the broader community.
The A-Leagues duo said the match had allowed them to elevate their personal stories of being gay athletes with the hope of achieving broader acceptance for LGBTIQ+ communities within sport and society.
“It was quite an amazing day really. I think it was the most nervous I’ve ever been for a game. There were nerves because we had to beat Victory to make the finals, but I think there were more nerves because I was just so excited to wear the rainbow I really wanted to do well for everyone who put it together and to get a win for all of the hard work people had done,” Hodgson said.
For Cavallo, it presented a historic and special moment.
“I wanted to soak in the moment; I knew this was huge and I wanted to see how we could change [perceptions] and everywhere you looked in the stadium there were rainbow flags.
“I knew for me, as soon as the whistle went, it’s football… but it was a really special day and I’m really happy that it went well and both teams won and hopefully in the future, the whole league can get around it.”
Listen to the Josh and Izzy share their story on the Footballers’ Voice via Spotify:
Footballers’ Voice Episodes:
Scott Jamieson on backing up a Championship season
Nathan Coe on transition out of football and life after Victory
Rebekah Stott on her recovery from cancer and aspirations for the Women’s World Cup
Kayla Morrison on her breakout season, ACL set back and 2022 aspirations
Jackson Irvine on life at St. Pauli, the Qatar World Cup and his role with the PFA
Chloe Knott on Wellington Phoenix Women’s inaugural season and relocation to Australia
