Charlton Athletic hold football tournament against homophobia

Watch former Dagenham and Barnet defender Anwar Uddin discuss the success of the annual Charlton v Homophobia tournament

Charlton Athletic have held a football tournament to show unity against homophobia for the third year running.

At The Valley on Monday night, The University of Greenwich's team retained the Charlton v Homophobia title in a penalty shootout over the Fans for Diversity side, which featured former Dagenham and Barnet defender Anwar Uddin.

Image: The University of Greenwich team celebrates victory in a penalty shootout to win the Charlton v Homophobia tournament (images courtesy of Keith Gillard)

Uddin, who is now Diversity and Campaigns manager for the Football Supporters' Federation, believes football can bring everyone together.

He said: "I think it's great the club has opened their doors and allowed the local community and fans in, to enjoy a night of football.

Image: The Fans For Diversity team

"It's great that football can bring everyone together. Not many people get an opportunity to play on a pitch and their family can come down and watch.

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"The team has absolutely loved it. To play at a stadium like this with other football fans, it's all about participation. Everyone wants to win and we have done very well.

"Everyone has played a game and enjoyed it - that's the main thing."

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Image: Charlton Invicta FC are champions of the London Unity League

The event was run by Charlton's LGBT+ fans group Proud Valiants and Charlton Athletic Community Trust (CACT) to help raise awareness of LGBT inclusion in football.

Six teams in total played, including Charlton Invicta FC, the LGBT-inclusive team who officially joined the Charlton family last year and were crowned London Unity League champions for the 2017/18 season.

Fans for Diversity is a Football Supporters' Federation and Kick It Out campaign which looks to celebrate diversity among football fans and ensure all fans can feel safe and welcome at football.

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