The AFL’s controversial decision to clear 6’2, 90kg transgender footballer Freya Golding to continue playing in a women’s league has sparked fresh calls for separate transgender leagues or for trans players to compete in mixed-sex competitions.
Supporters say it could protect the female competition while still giving transgender athletes a place to play.
But transgender advocates argue the seemingly simple solution comes with major problems—from potentially outing players to creating leagues that may not have enough athletes to survive.
The debate erupted after the AFL Gender Diversity Policy Committee cleared Golding to continue playing for Westminster Old Scholars in the Adelaide Footy League women’s competition.
Three rival clubs had lodged duty-of-care complaints, but the committee found it was ‘not satisfied’ that Golding’s participation posed ‘unacceptable safety risks’.
Women’s Forum Australia head of advocacy Stephanie Bastiaan said the decision showed a ‘disregard for the safety and fairness of female players’, adding that rival teams were prepared to refuse to play Westminster Old Scholars.
Freya Golding was cleared by an AFL committee to continue playing in the Adelaide Footy League women’s competition this season
Three clubs lodged duty-of-care complaints before the ruling and some later indicated willingness to forfeit future matches against Westminster
Golding said she is neither the biggest nor tallest player and wants to play sport she loves
‘The female category exists for a reason: to provide women and girls with a safe and fair competition,’ she said.
‘My concern is that this decision sets a dangerous precedent for female competitions more broadly.’
The backlash has sparked calls for transgender footballers to compete in a new, separate transgender-only league or in mixed-sex competitions.
Women’s rights campaigner Sall Grover said mixed-sex teams provided the clearest alternative to changing the eligibility rules governing female competitions.
‘Mixed-sex teams are the obvious solution, as everyone on those teams is consenting to play in a mixed-sex sports game. They play according to that scenario,’ Grover said.
‘If a man does not want to play on the men’s team, because he feels it doesn’t validate his identity, he can play on the mixed-sex team. It is a choice some women also make. What makes him special to be excluded from that choice?’
Kelly Slater has called for a transgender division, arguing it would remove confusion surrounding eligibility in women’s sport
Sall Grover argued mixed-sex teams offer an alternative because every participant consents to compete in the same open sporting environment
Women’s Forum Australia advocate Stephanie Bastiaan called for an urgent review of the AFL’s community-level Gender Diversity Policy following the ruling
Grover also said that men’s teams should do more to accommodate transgender players—so they are not playing in the women’s league.
‘There should be an onus on men’s teams to be accepting of men with various identities. It’s quite telling that there has so far been no pressure on men’s sports teams to be inclusive of men who prefer wearing skirts and lipstick,’ she said.
‘The entire point is: where a man plays should never be women’s problem.’
Under an open or mixed-sex model, men, women, transgender and non-binary athletes could compete together without meeting the eligibility requirements of strictly male or female divisions.
Supporters believe this would protect sex-based women’s sport while continuing to provide playing opportunities for everybody.
Former masters footballer Jill Chalmers previously urged the AFL to consider an ‘inclusive’ or ‘open’ competition.
‘We want (trans players) to be included, but we just think the AFL needs to consider another avenue,’ she said.
Australian surfing great Kelly Slater has made a similar proposal, saying: ‘Make a trans division and we don’t have this confusion.’
Australian swimmer Madeleine Groves also defended transgender athletes, saying trans people deserve to play sport like anyone else
Transgender athlete Chris Mosier said advocates would not accept policies rooted in fear rather than fairness or inclusion
But transgender athletes and advocacy groups argue that directing them into an alternative competition would amount to segregation rather than inclusion.
Transgender advocate Chris Mosie, who became the first openly transgender man to compete in an Olympic trial against men, has argued that athletes should receive opportunities based on who they are rather than being separated under policies based on perceived risk.
Mosier said transgender advocates would ‘not accept policies rooted in fear instead of fairness’.
Australian swimmer Madeleine Groves has also defended inclusion in established competitions.
‘Trans people deserve to play sport like anyone else,’ she said.
A transgender-only football league would require enough players of similar ages and abilities who live within travelling distance of one another.
As one social media user observed: ‘There’s barely enough trans women in the city full stop to fill two football teams, let alone enough who like footy, are the right age, and are available to play.’
Meanwhile, the Australian Human Rights Commission says sporting policies should maximise transgender and gender-diverse participation while protecting equality, privacy and freedom from discrimination.
