International Gay and Lesbian Football Association

Referees of IGLFA in the Buenos Aires World Cup.

The International Gay and Lesbian Football Association (IGLFA) is an international organization which was founded in 1992 with the intention of promoting association football (known as soccer in the United States and football in most of the rest of the world) in the LGBTQ+ community and to promote queer football to the world at large.

The IGLFA is the governing body of LGBT football and regulates the association football portion of the Gay Games as well as the Official IGLFA World, North American and European Championships.

History

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While the IGLFA was formed in 1992, LGBT football teams competed against each other at the first Gay Games in 1982, and an autonomous international championship event was held annually beginning in 1987. Beginning in 1992, a European competition has been held by the IGLFA, though it is separate from the currently-recognized European championship which began in 2011; a North American championship also began in 2011. The IGLFA World Championships were held every year from 1992 to 2010, but now are held only on even-numbered years; odd-numbered years are currently used for the continental championships and other competitions. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no 2020 world championship nor any 2021 regional championships.

Beginning in 2019, IGFLA also began recognizing the Sin City Classic, the largest annual LGBT sports event in the world, as the official indoor championship, though the Las Vegas tournament had held soccer tournaments for many years before. This tournament is otherwise known as the IGLFA World Indoor Championship.

All IGLFA tournaments are split into Mixed Gender and Female competitions. Whilst the majority of participants in the mixed gender competition are male, all genders are permitted to participate.

As of February 2020, 39 tournaments have been held, including 7 tournaments before IGLFA, 23 IGLFA World Championships, 4 IGLFA Euro Championships, 2 IGLFA North American championships, 2 official indoor championships, and 1 IGLFA Unity cup. Stonewall FC is the most successful mixed gender club, having won 11 times (1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2019). Other clubs who have won the male competition multiple times are San Francisco Spikes (7 times), Cream Team Cologne (3 times), West Hollywood Soccer Club (3 times), SAFG Argentina (2 times), Federal Triangles Soccer Club (2 times), and the Minnesota Gray Ducks (2 times). There are currently no repeat Champions in the female competition.

World championships

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"Los Dogos DAG", champions of Buenos Aires Gay World Cup (2007).

The association is affiliated with the Federation of Gay Games and awards the annual Tom Waddell Memorial Trophy (created in 1988) to the winner of its mixed gender tournament (held as part of the Gay Games in years when that event is held).

Tournaments and champions

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Below is a summary of Mixed Gender Div.1, Mixed Gender Div.2, and Female champions at IGLFA's major international tournaments and their predecessors. Parentheses indicate the number of times a city has hosted or the number of times a team has won Div.1 titles and therefore crowned as IGLFA World Champions. Italics represent indoor championships.

Year Tournament Host Mixed Div. 1 Champions Mixed Div. 2 Champions Female Div. 1 Champions
1982 Gay Games I San Francisco San Francisco Spikes Not Held
/ Unknown
Not Held
1983 to 1985 Not Held
1986 Gay Games II San Francisco (2) San Francisco Spikes (2,3,4,5) Team San Francisco
1987 Denver Not Held
1988 Seattle
1989 Boston Team Toronto
1990 Gay Games III Vancouver Los Angeles Suns San Francisco Scotts
1991 Atlanta San Francisco Spikes (6) Not Held
1992 IGLFA WC I New York City San Diego Sparks Boston Strikers New York Electra
1993 IGLFA WC II Los Angeles San Francisco Spikes (7) Not Held Not Held
1994 IGLFA WC III
Gay Games IV
New York City (2) Cream Team Cologne Cincinnati Sharks Colorado Beaver Trappers
1995 IGLFA WC IV Berlin London Stonewall Lions Not Held Team Frankfurt
1996 IGLFA WC V Dallas German All-Stars Not Held
1997 IGLFA WC VI Washington, D.C. Los Angeles Suns (2) Philadelphia Falcons Stochastic Force (Washington D.C., USA)
1998 IGLFA WC VII
Gay Games V
Amsterdam Cream Team Cologne (2,3) Los Angeles Eclipse Team Joost (Netherlands)
1999 IGLFA WC VIII Fort Lauderdale Not Held Berlin Magic Pirates
2000 IGLFA WC IX Cologne London Stonewall Lions (2,3,4) London Apprentices Towanda 2000 (USA)
2001 IGLFA WC X London Not Held Aztec Parma
2002 IGLFA WC XI
Gay Games VI
Sydney The Americans SC Amhurst Aztecs (USA)
2003 IGLFA WC XII Boston (2) Americas SC Florida Storm Boston Strikers
2004 IGLFA WC XIII San Francisco (3) Florida Storm Not Held SF Spykes
2005 IGLFA WC XIV Copenhagen Paris PAEC Japan Pan Fodbold, Hilde Brand (Denmark)
2006 IGLFA WC XV
Gay Game VII
Chicago London Stonewall Lions (5) Boston Strikers Thunderkitten Madison Wisconsin
2007 IGLFA WC XVI Buenos Aires Los Dogos DAG (Argentina) West Hollywood Not Held
2008 IGLFA WC XVII London (2) London Stonewall Lions (6,7,8,9) Leicester Wildecats (UK) Hackney Women's FC (United Kingdom)
2009 IGLFA WC XVIII Washington, D.C. (2) Seattle Jet City Strikers Philadelphia Falcons exhibition
2010 IGLFA WC XIX
Gay Games VIII
Cologne (2) tie: SAFG (Argentina)
Los Angeles Eclipse
Hobbergasen Erlangen (Germany)
2011 IGLFA Euro I Manchester London Falcon Not Held
IGLFA NAmer I
NAmer Outgames II
Vancouver (2) United FC New York Ramblers
2012 IGLFA WC XX Mexico City SAFG (Argentina) Not Held
2013 IGLFA Euro II Dublin Village Manchester FC Insaka FC (Ireland) Alternativa (Russia)
2014 IGLFA WC XXI
Gay Games 9
Cleveland/Akron London Stonewall Lions (10) San Francisco Spikes Toronto United Women
2015 IGLFA Euro III Hamburg Vorspiel Berlin I Cream Team Cologne FC Krylya
IGLFA NAmer II Madison Federal Triangles Soccer Club (1,2) Not Held Not Held
2016 IGLFA WC XXII Portland Vancouver SC
2017 IGLFA Unity Cup
World OutGames IV
Miami SAFG (Argentina) (2) Stockholm Snipers/Pan Fobold
2018 IGLFA WC XXIII
Gay Games 10
Paris West Hollywood Soccer Club (LA Eclipse) (3) London Stonewall Cubs Rosa Bonheur
2019 IGLFA Indoor I
2019 Sin City Classic
Las Vegas (ind.) Minnesota Gray Ducks San Diego Sparks Didesex (Mexico)
IGLFA Euro III
EuroGames 2019
Rome London Stonewall Lions (11) G Madrid Sports Jumping Potatoes (Austria)
2020 IGLFA Indoor II
2019 Sin City Classic
Las Vegas (ind.) Minnesota Gray Ducks (2) AZKATL (Mexico)
2021 Not Held
2022* IGLFA Indoor III
2022 Sin City Classic
Las Vegas (ind.) West Hollywood Soccer Club
IGLFA WC XXIV
30th anniversary worldwide
Washington, D.C. (3) Federal Triangles Soccer Club Federal Triangles Soccer Club West Hollywood Soccer Club
Sydney (2) West Hollywood Soccer Club Minnesota Gray Ducks West Hollywood Soccer Club
2023* IGLFA Indoor IV
2023 Sin City Classic
Las Vegas (ind.)
IGLFA NAmer III St. Pete CANCELED
2024 IGLFA Indoor V
2024 Sin City Classic
Las Vegas (ind.)
IGLFA WC XXV Buenos Aires (2)

*The Sydney tournament is still considered part of the 2022 30th anniversary celebrations despite taking coinciding with WorldPride in Feb. 2023.

Medalists

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The following is a list of all clubs that have earned multiple medals at IGLFA-recognized tournaments (since 1992).

Legend
  • ## — Mixed gender 1st Division
  • ## — Mixed gender 2nd Division
  • ## — Mixed gender 3rd Division
  • ## — Female 1st Division
  • ## — Female 2nd Division
  • Italics — Indoor championship
  • * — Shared result (combined team or tie)
Club '92 '93 '94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 '00 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17 '18 '19 '20
Argentina
Los Dogos DAG 1st 3rd 3rd 3rd
Seleccion Argentina Futbolistas Gay SAFG 2nd 1st* 1st 1st
Denmark
Pan Fodbold (Copenhagen) 1st 2nd 1st* 3rd*
France
FC Paris Lutece 1st 2nd
Germany
Cream Team Cologne 1st 3rd 1st 1st 2rd 2nd 3rd 3rd 1st
Streetboys Munchen 2nd 2nd
Ireland
Dublin Devils FC 1st 2nd 2nd
Mexico
AZKATL 2nd 1st
1st
Didesex 2nd* 1st
LOBOS 3rd 3rd
South Africa
The Chosen Few 3rd 2nd
Sweden
Stockholm Snipers 3rd 1st* 3rd*
United Kingdom
Hackney Women's FC 2nd 1st 2nd*
London Falcons 3rd 1st 2nd
London Stonewall [Lions, Apprentices, Cubs] 3rd 2nd 1st 2nd 2nd 3rd 1st 1st 1st 1st 2nd 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 3rd 1st
1st 2nd 2nd 1st 2nd
London Titans [XXL, 2Brewers] 2nd 2nd 2nd 2nd 3rd
Village Manchester FC 2nd 2nd 1st 2nd
United States
Boston Strikers 1st 1st 1st 2nd 2nd
Dallas Oak Lawn 2nd 2nd
Federal Triangles (D.C.) 2nd 3rd 2nd 3rd 2nd 1st 1st 2nd
Florida Storm 1st 1st 2nd
Hotlanta SC 3rd 3rd
Los Angeles Cobras 2nd 2nd
Madison Wisconsin 1st
1st
Minnesota Gray Ducks 3rd 1st 1st
2nd 3rd
3rd
New York Ramblers 3rd 3rd 3rd 3rd 3rd 3rd 1st 2nd
Philadelphia Falcons 1st 1st 3rd*
2nd
San Francisco Spikes 3rd 1st 2nd 3rd 2nd 3rd 2nd 3rd 1st 2nd 3rd
1st 3rd*
San Diego Sparks 1st 2nd 3rd 3rd 1st 3rd
Rain City FC [Jet City Strikers, Stonewall FC] (WA) 1st 2nd 2nd 2nd
Team Americas SC 1st 1st
Twin City Jacks 2nd 2nd
United FC (FL) 2nd 2nd 1st 3rd
2nd
West Hollywood SC [LA Suns, LA Eclipse, Rockets] 2nd 1st 1st 2nd 2nd 1st 2nd 1st* 1st 3rd 2nd
2nd

See also

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References

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