FOR THE SECOND year running, the campaign aiming to kick homphobia out of football will see hundreds of professional footballers wear rainbow laces this weekend.

Started by LGBT charity Stonewall and Paddy Power, the idea to wear the laces proved a success 12 months ago as players laced up to show their support.

This time around, a number of high profile names such as Stephen Fry, Ricky Hatton and the Arsenal team have got behind the project and, with 48 hours to go before the weekend’s football kicks off in the UK, demand for the laces has surprassed 100,000 pairs.

“The response from clubs, players, fans, celebs and the public has been incredible,” Richard Lane from Stonewall said.

The excitement and enthusiasm that the campaign has generated is really remarkable and it’s inspiring to see a national conversation about homophobia in sport taking place.

“Now the ball is in the players’ court. We hope they recognise the power of people calling for the game to change and lace up this weekend.”

Here’s a sample of the support received so far:
https://vine.co/v/OztePDZz2tH