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Revered Stonewall football star Aslie Pitter nets an honorary award

Wednesday 16 November 2011

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Aslie Pitter MBE was today awarded an Honorary Doctor of Arts at the University of East London’s graduation ceremony in London’s 02.

As one of the mainstays of the revered Stonewall FC, Aslie has perhaps done more for gay athletes in football than anyone else.

Born in Wimbledon in 1960, he played in youth teams at Sutton United and Carshalton and got his first taste of league football when he earned himself a trial at Wimbledon, where he narrowly missed out on a contract.

Returning to the Sunday league where he originally learned the game became a struggle of epic proportions due to his sexuality and race – with opposition players and even his own teammates, regularly targeting him for on-field homophobic abuse and aggressive physical confrontation. He soon decided that a playing career in Britain’s top leagues would be a stretch too far – especially with attitudes the way they were in football at the time.

Dejected but still full of enthusiasm for the game he loved, Aslie joined a group of gay players at a Waterloo sports centre for a kick around in 1991 after seeing an advert in a magazine – the group of people that had founded Stonewall FC just a few months before.

Over the following years, with Aslie’s determination and leadership, Stonewall FC became the biggest and best gay team in the world – winning the Gay Games in Chicago in 2006 and Cologne in 2010.  He helped to demonstrate to young gay men nationwide that the much-revered ‘macho’ world of sport was not as far out of touch as they originally thought it might be.

Speaking at today’s School of Health and Biosciences ceremony, Aslie said: “It’s an absolute honour to receive this award and especially from a university, which is going to such great lengths to make sport inclusive to the people of East London. It’s important to remember that sport isn’t just for elite athletes; it’s there for everyone to take part in and enjoy.”

Now, at 51, Aslie still loves the game as much as he always has – coaching the Stonewall second team and giving them much-needed guile and ferocity on the pitch as a player too.

In 2011, Aslie was officially recognised for his work in tackling homophobia in football when he was awarded an MBE.

Notes to Editors

The University of East London (UEL) is a global learning community with over 28,000 students from over 120 countries world-wide. Our vision is to achieve recognition, both nationally and internationally, as a successful and inclusive regional university proud of its diversity, committed to new modes of learning which focus on students and enhance their employability, and renowned for our contribution to social, cultural and economic development, especially through our research and scholarship. We have a strong track-record in widening participation and working with industry.

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