The Warsaw-based Chrzaszczyki soccer club is well known as “Poland’s first lesbian football club”. This week, plus in light of Andrzej Duda’s current re-election, we’d the opportunity to talk with its founder, Italian-born Suzi Andreis, that has been residing and fighting for LGBT+ liberties in Poland for longer than 2 decades. She informs us about her work, her jobs and her experience staying in Poland.

Hi Suzi, thank you for using the time for you respond to our concerns. First things first, limitations are gradually reducing up. Just exactly exactly What happens to be your experience throughout the pandemic?

Covid possessed a large effect in our task, we had to cancel our yearly soccer Against Homophobia competition that has been prepared for March 14. We’d and to stop our regular conferences of y our Womxn’s Football Academy task. We were able to start training once again at the Academy at the start of June but, up to now, Covid restrictions ensure it is impractical to arrange a competition, that have all been terminated.

Strange times certainly. But let’s begin at the start. Just Exactly How did Chrzaszczyki Soccer Club begin?

C hrzaszczyki began very informally during summer of 1999. Included in the LBT+ environment, a couple of users of a lesbian subscriber list had the idea fulfill in a park in Warsaw, to invest a while together, also to play soccer. It had been type of a tale. We didn’t have group and incredibly number of us had any soccer experience. But we liked that really very first game therefore much that individuals chose to carry on.

“In the very first years, our definitive goal would be to produce an area for womxn when you look at the LGBT+ community in Warsaw. ” Credit: Suzi Andreis

Just exactly What took place next?

In the 1st years, our definitive goal would be to produce a place for womxn into the community that is LGBT Warsaw. Games would happen on a regular basis, they certainly were available (pickup), we scarcely ever played on a genuine pitch. The concern would be to produce a place where womxn that is non-heteronormative fulfill. Football had been a additional problem. But things changed in 2007 as soon as we arranged our very first competition… and it absolutely was a success! We then made a decision to give attention to football, to produce as a team, not merely as community of womxn.

You may be referred to as “Poland’s first lesbian football club”, yet your club is ready to accept everybody else. How will you determine yourselves?

Yes, our soccer club happens of this community that is LGBT. But we don’t ask people who wish to join us about their orientation that is sexual or. Possibly the most readily useful meaning of Chrzaszczyki is a lady club with a lot of lesbian, bisexual, transgender womxn. Our exposure as a “lesbian” team is our governmental declaration in Polish society that is homophobic. It’s important however it’s perhaps maybe perhaps not our only objective.

Is the fact that why you call it “inclusive soccer”?

We have been conscious that there are lots of social obstacles that counter womxn from getting involved in the overall game. Soccer is actually for example culturally considered a discipline that is exclusively male. We call our game soccer that is“inclusive because we make an effort to address as numerous obstacles as you can which will make our projects accessible. Though Polish culture is pretty homogenic with regards to competition, our community that is LGBT+ is, LGBT+ folks are various.

“Our visibility as a ‘lesbian’ team is our governmental declaration in Polish homophobic society. ” Credit: Julia Szablowska

Is it possible to expand with this?

Well, our tasks are often totally free, or have symbolic charges, making sure that individuals of lower income may take component. We don’t give attention to performance, nor competition: we should produce an area where womxn of any age and of various cap cap cap ability, with or without sport experience can begin their adventure with soccer. Numerous at our Academy are womxn who possess maybe perhaps not practiced any sport since their childhood and now have to construct from scrape their basic human body coordination and abilities. Moreover, some womxn in the community that is migrant need to work a couple of jobs in order to make ends satisfy in Warsaw. For this reason our trainings are on a basis that is voluntary you don’t need to be here each week, it is possible to come, join and play whenever you want whilst still being be person in the group. We additionally provide kid caring during trainings

You talked about a few times your Academy. Are you able to inform us more about it?

In 2013, we began the Womxn’s Football Academy, a soccer school for adult womxn, meaning cis/trans, queer and non-binary individuals. The thought of our tasks are to produce a space that is safe womxn can exercise soccer, free from any style discrimination where individuals can feel safe. We additionally arrange debates, movie tests, exhibitions where we discuss our experience. We skip a solid anti-discrimination motion in Polish soccer. Yes, there’s an evergrowing motion and the problem of “women” in football is progressively visible within the news. But conversations relate solely to “women” as being a homogenic group that is social to sexism and gender discrimination just. We be involved in this motion, but we genuinely believe that the way that is only result in the game accessible is a wider, intersectional approach to deal with social obstacles and prejudices that result in systemic discrimination and exclusion.

“We additionally organize debates, movie tests, exhibitions where we speak about our experience. ” Credit: Julia Szablowska