Port Adelaide has unveiled its first Pride guernsey to recognise and celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community throughout Pride Round.
The AFLW team will wear the rainbow guernsey at Alberton Oval in Round Eight to acknowledge the journey the league is on toward creating safe and inclusive environments where everyone feels welcome.
The round will also acknowledge the role of allies in supporting inclusivity, visibility and awareness of the LGBTQIA+ community in football.
The final guernsey design centres around a fingerprint, inspired by the beauty of human individuality.
The fingerprint incorporates colours from the Non-Binary, Progress and Lesbian Pride Flags and signifies the array of identities that come together to create the Port Adelaide Football Club family.
As unique as a fingerprint is to each person, so too is their identity, and each member of the LGBTQIA+ community has their own story to tell.
Pulling inspiration from the Pride Walk in Light Square, dates from key pride events and progressive political decisions have also been included in the design, marking society’s ongoing journey toward equal rights and opportunity.
Port Adelaide vice-captain Ange Foley spoke about what Pride Round means to her.
“People deserve to be at peace, to openly be who they are,” she said.
“We know that some people fight daily within themselves because they may not have the confidence to truly express their feelings.
“Pride Round is a celebration of human-kind and all that it encompasses. It’s happiness. It’s peace. It’s joy. It’s everyone coming together. It’s about humans supporting humans simply for who they are. It should be simple.
“We need less judgment in this world and this round is a platform for people to either celebrate that or even to realise it.”
Pride Round at Alberton will feature special rainbow elements on and around the ground, reflecting the colours within the Pride Flag.
The jumper design was a collaboration between the club and Pride Cup, an organisation that works with all levels of sport to create environments where every LGBTQI+ person feels seen, connected and empowered.
A Pride retail range is now on sale at the Port Store, including a replica guernsey, socks, scarves, keyrings and can coolers, with a portion of the guernsey sale proceeds being donated to Pride Cup.