LGBT+ fan groups may be fairly new to some Premier League clubs.
But Arsenal's Gay Gooners have now been running for over years, having been established in February 2013.
Doing so it became the first club of its type at the top level of the English game, following in the footsteps of a host of similar societies among Bundesliga teams.
“Our first match was against Blackburn in the FA Cup that year," recalls George Rice, the chair of the group, when speaking to Goal. "Speaking to members who were there, they speak of a sense of belonging.
“It’s a mutually beneficial relationship with the club. It pays for them to have advice from us to make the matchday experience more welcoming
"I also think, from our point of view, the support from the club is genuine, and is not a case of rainbow washing. There is a genuine desire to make the atmosphere more welcoming.”
Rice is immensely positive about the matchday experience at Emirates Stadium, where there is an belief that no fan should be excluded on accounts of something like their sexuality.
“I have personally found Arsenal fans to be extremely welcoming,” he says. “There have been times when we have put up our supporters’ flags at away games and got really supportive comments. We also have really good relationships with other supporters’ groups.
“What is interesting about Gay Gooners is the different range of ages you will see. I first attended an Arsenal match when I was seven in 2007, so I’ve grown up in a more inclusive environment, then you speak to members who would go to matches in the 1980s, and you’d be asking for trouble being openly LGBT+ at football.
“We exist as a reminder that if you make homophobic comments, you are insulting your fellow supporters. When we call these things out, most supporters will take a step back and say sorry, about how it is ingrained in our culture that we say these things.”
He is less happy with the situation for LGBT+ fans in the wider football world, however, and would like to see a boycott of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Rice feels there is a lack of genuine interest from official football governing bodies in promoting equality in the game, and direct action from supporters is needed.
He says: “I have a mistrust of governing bodies in football, you just have to look at FIFA and the fact that the next World Cup is being held in a country which criminalises LGBT people.
“UEFA have an equally awkward record, bringing the Europa League final to Baku. They particularly are organisations that pay lip service to discrimination, and when push comes to shove, they are not willing to take the necessary action.
“I personally would be inclined, when it comes to Qatar, to support a boycott of the World Cup.”
Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar, and Muslims living in the country can be executed under Sharia law if they have gay relationships, though there are currently no known cases of the death penalty being enforced for this reason.
In English football, Rice also thinks more has to be done, particularly providing education and awareness to academy players and at amateur level.
He said: “There is nothing in any kind of coaching badge linked to inclusion, and coaches at a grassroots level should be taught these lessons and be able to pass messages of inclusion onto young footballers to improve the dressing room atmosphere.”
Rice now believes the next step is having players who are more willing to condemn homophobia publicly and support their LGBT+ fans – something which he says is already happening across the Arsenal men’s and women’s teams.
“It’s all well and good me, someone the wider Arsenal community has never heard of, standing up with a rainbow flag. Having players come out and say the dressing room is behind us, and with Hector Bellerin in particular, it was very validating.
“I went to a staff training event Arsenal put on in February on LGBT inclusion, and they had one of the women’s players, Katie McCabe, turn up, and she said before she joined she saw the Gay Gooners banner and knew that she would be welcome if she were to join.
"To hear that from one of the players made me feel that all the work we do is worth it.”