The Football Association (FA) has announced that transgender women will not be allowed to compete in women’s football in England from the start of June.
The decision follows a Supreme Court ruling last month that the terms “woman” and “sex” in equality law refer to “a biological woman and biological sex.”
As a result of the judgement, the FA was advised by its lawyers to change its previous policy, which had allowed transgender women to play in the women’s game.
In a statement released on Thursday, the football body said it had always been open to reviewing its position “if there was a material change in law.”
“The Supreme Court’s ruling on the 16 April means that we will be changing our policy,” the FA confirmed.
“Transgender women will no longer be able to play in women’s football in England, and this policy will be implemented from 1 June 2025,” it added.
The FA said it would directly contact all registered transgender women affected by the decision.
The move comes barely a month after the FA ruled that transgender women could continue playing women’s football provided their testosterone levels were below five nmol/L for at least a year.
The Supreme Court’s contentious decision has upended years of policymaking, with many rights groups criticising the ruling.
A trans former judge plans to launch an appeal in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
Victoria McCloud, who came out as transgender in the 1990s and became a judge in 2006, told Euronews that the judgement made life “impossible for people like me.”
