Adelaide United’s Josh Cavallo became the first openly gay male top-flight professional footballer when he came out in October 2021. Four years on, Cavallo reflects on his career and personal life since coming out publicly as gay on the latest episode of FIFPRO’s Footballers Unfiltered series with Joe Hart.
In the third episode of the Footballers Unfiltered series, Cavallo reflected on the time since he came out publicly, describing the decision to do so as “15 kiloes of weight” off his shoulders. The episode arrives as the A-Leagues celebrates Pride in Australian football, with the Australian Professional Leagues, Pride Cup and PFA partnering on the initiative.
“I got to a point in my life where I wanted to live authentically; I felt quite stuck and it did affect my mental health quite a lot,” he said.
“Looking back, it was the best move and decision I’ve ever made. We’re in 2025 now and so much has happened in the meantime.
“I’m proud of myself, the people around me, my support network, and how we’ve correlated and changed things around football, but we also have to realise there’s still a long way to go.”
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Cavallo and Hart were joined by FIFPRO’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Manager Erica Puppo, who spoke about how the 2019 PFA Player Development Camp helped play an important role in bringing the topic of homophobia to the fore for professional footballers.
“We saw PFA Australia doing a player development camp back in 2019. So, this is even before Josh came out, on the topic of homophobia because there is still very much an awareness on the lack of … or the fact that there are not enough of these conversations happening maybe in the locker room,” Puppo said.
“So, providing those spaces, and that camp in 2019 had like around 200 players, and they showed a documentary on the topic of homophobia and then the players were provided a space to discuss if they wanted to, if they felt comfortable, [ask] questions. I think providing those safe and confidential spaces for players is massive and it’s very important.”
FIFA estimates that there around 130,000 professional footballers in the men’s game, but only a few of these players have come out publicly, including Jake Daniels and Jakub Jankto who have since come out in the years since Cavallo’s announcement.
However, this continues to raise questions about how men’s football can create a more inclusive and supportive environment where gay players feel comfortable about being open with their sexual orientation and breaking any pre-existing stigmas.
“For me, gay men are looked upon differently. They’re looked upon weaker, they’re looked upon not masculine. That means they’re not going to be at their best, that means they’re not going to be the best footballer. And it has such a negative connotation to it,” he said about challenging stigmas.
“For me, showing weakness or showing something about yourself that you don’t think is the strongest point doesn’t actually bring you down. It leads you into growing, growing into being a better person, growing into being a better player, doing things that will improve your game.
“I’m glad now I can step on the field, and I can be who I am and in the competition of Australia in the A-League, I haven’t come across anyone on the field that uses it in a negative way.”
Footballers Unfiltered is a monthly series celebrating FIFPRO’s 60th year of serving players right across the globe.
All episodes – including Josh’s – can be accessed HERE.
