Founders of Rainbow Spireites praise “fantastic” response from Chesterfield FC and fellow fans after launching LGBTQ+ supporters group

Darren and Ellie Yates are the founders of Rainbow Spireites, Chesterfield FC’s first LGBTQ+ supporters group. The pair, who are uncle and niece, have each followed the club for a number of years – and said they wanted the group to function as a safe space for any LGBTQ+ Spireites.

Ellie said: “We’re both members of the LGBTQ+ community, and we thought it would be nice to have a group like that for Chesterfield fans who are part of the community, and might not have known other fans that were – it’s a safe space for them really.”

Darren added: “We thought, as there’s no group, why not actually be the ones to set one up. It’s not because we think there’s a problem here, there’s no problem with the club or the supporter base – it’s just good to have a group that’s there for LGBTQ+ fans to come along and have that support.”

Darren was full of praise for Chesterfield FC, and said that those behind the scenes had thrown their support behind the group in its infancy.

He said: “The club has been brilliant, we couldn't have asked any more, particularly from Keith Jackson on the community side of things and Peter Whiteley. It’s been total support from them, and even from outside and from other areas, we’ve been getting quite good feedback.”

Ellie added: “There was always, unfortunately, the worry that there might have been some comments made on social media and things like that, but we’ve only seen positive comments towards us, so that’s absolutely fantastic.”

The group had its first official meet-up ahead of the Halifax game last month, and Ellie said that the appetite was there for further social events.

“We had our first meet-up before the match against Halifax, and it was nice for people to be able to come, sit, watch the game together and actually meet people. It’s the chance for fans to know that they’re not alone. We’re planning for more meet-ups and events and things like that.”

Darren added that they wanted to engage with their own members and the wider community as part of their plans for the future – with hopes of helping to dismantle any obstacles stopping the LGBTQ+ community from becoming more involved with football.

“We’re a supporters group, so whatever our members want to do as the group and how they want to take it forward – we’ll have to see what the interest is. We’re thinking about working with the club and the Derbyshire FA to hold a mini-football tournament, to get the groups together and have an enjoyable day and a bit of a kickabout for those that want to do that.

“It’s not just supporters that want to come to the club, it’s also perhaps about us looking out to the LGBTQ+ community, and what they think the barriers are for them coming to the football, and hopefully trying to overcome that.

“I’ve been coming for 30-odd years and it’s never been an issue for me, but there might be someone sitting at home thinking: ‘I’d like to go, but do I feel comfortable, would I be on my own?’ This group can be there for them to come with to the games, to enjoy it and not feel so self-conscious.”

The group was set up in July, having officially launched at Chesterfield Pride, and it already has 33 members.

Darren said: “Hopefully, it becomes more of an established group with more regular social meet-ups. We’d also like to be established as a critical friend of the club. The club has been great, but if they were introducing something and wanted to run it by us as a group, to see how it would play out with the LGBTQ+ community, hopefully we can establish ourselves to do that as well.”

The pair also discussed their connections with other LGBTQ+ supporters groups across Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire – adding that it was encouraging to see fans putting rivalries aside off the pitch and working together.

Darren said: “We’re part of a regional alliance with supporters of football clubs close to us – Rainbow Blades, Rainbow Owls, Proud Forest, Marching Out Together, Proud Stags and Proud Millers.

“It’s almost like a support group for support groups, and we can bounce ideas off each other. We have to give a lot of credit particularly to James at Rainbow Blades. When we were setting the group up, we approached him as well to talk it through with him, and he’s been great. It’s good to be rivals on the pitch, but you can have that community off the pitch.”

The group’s Twitter/X handle is @RainbowSpireite - the membership form is pinned at the top of their page. They can be found on other social media channels – and also have a range of merchandise available.