LGBT+ World Cup protest grows as OneLove armband is modded into Fifa 23

From the kick-off of the World Cup, there had been much debate about whether teams would wear the OneLove armband in support of LGBT+ people, with reports widely detailing how this group is discriminated against in the home nation. England, Wales and Germany (which had a silenced protest of its own) were among the teams that said they were going to wear the armband, but backed down under threat of a yellow card.

The in-game mod can be adopted by computerized versions of any of the 32 teams playing in this year’s World Cup, allowing ”virtual players to do what they’ve been forbidden to do in the real world”.

All Out campaign manager Justin Lessner said: ”The armband thing is really striking, because the rainbow on it isn’t even the LGBT+ flag. Even so, team captains were forbidden from wearing it and threatened with punishment if they did. That goes to show how the repression of the mere mention of LGBT+ issues in Qatar is both severe and highly coordinated – so just imagine what LGBT+ people in Qatar go through! It’s incredibly dangerous.”

The ’Play With Love’ campaign will feature streamers and pro players from Brazil and across the globe who will play matches live, highlighting their players’ armbands. ”It’s not just about the players themselves taking a stand. This is where creativity comes into it. Diversity has to be there on the pitch, on the court, in the press, on social media, and across the world,” said Rodrigo Almeida and Rafael Gil, executive creative directors at AlmapBBDO, in a statement.

All Out is also inviting people to sign a global petition in support of LGBT+ rights in Qatar.