Celebrating Diversity, Inclusion, and our European LGBTIQ+ Sports movement 

The European Gay and Lesbian Sports Federation (EGLSF) Annual General Assembly (AGA) 2025 took place in Valencia, Spain, from February 28 to March 2, 2025 hosted by member club Samarucs. During the same week, Samarucs also organised their annual Jocs Taronja sports tournament in Valencia, giving AGA attendees an opportunity to join with tournament participants, reinforcing the spirit of diversity and inclusion central to our LGBTIQ+ sports community. We are deeply grateful to Samarucs for their exceptional efforts in organising the event and ensuring its great success.

Each year the AGA brings together members from across Europe to oversee the governance of EGLSF, and to engage in important discussions, plan future initiatives, and celebrate significant achievements within EGLSF and our sports community. 

The AGA began on Friday 28th February with a Best Practices Conference on Building Inclusive Sports Together. There were three interactive and inspiring workshops which focused on (1) Strategies for LGBTIQ+ Inclusion and Safe Spaces in Sports, (2) Gender Equality and Diversity policies in LGBTIQ+ sport clubs and, (3) Combating Homophobia and Transphobia in European grassroots sport through GAME (Governance, Advocacy, Membership and Events) improvement. Inputs came from across EGLSF members, and included inputs from members working on Erasmus+ funded, EGLSF-led projects Promoting inclusion and combating discrimination in European grassroots sport (PLUSS), and LBTI women in Sport – Research & Outcomes (WSRO).  An onboarding session for new AGA attendees also took place within the conference. 

The conference was followed by a welcome reception for EGLSF members and AGA attendees which took place at Universitat de València, and we were honoured by speeches from Stéphane Soriano, Director of Equality and LGBTI Diversity from the Region of València, Julio del Valle, Director General of LGBTI Diversity from the Government of Spain and María Ángeles Vidal, Directora Gerente de la Fundación Deportiva Municipal de Valencia.

Sylvia Martínez Gallego, vice-rector for Equality from Universitat de València also participated in the event.

Finally, attendees joined for the Opening Ceremony of the Jocs Taronja tournament with some incredible entertainment from the Samarucs team, and inspiring speeches from Samarucs President Javier Gil Quintana and Vice-President Patricia Arévalo. 

The Assembly business meeting took place on Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd March, ably chaired by Tatjana Eggeling & Philip Houtermans. Members took a look at the activity, finance and committee governance reports from 2024, with a fantastic overview and report of a very successful EuroGames Vienna 2024. Parallel member sessions were held on the topics of exploring the EGLSF Strategic Plan, Development of EuroGames, and Erasmus+ funding opportunities. 

We had important reports on the progress of organising the EuroGames Lyon 2025 who have passed an incredible 3,500 registrations, and Cardiff 2027 who have made some exceptional progress with their venues and sports programme, as well as a highly informative update presentation from our friends at the Valencia Gay Games in 2026. There had been no regular bidding cycle for 2028 EuroGames, with invitations for collaborations being sought instead. This year, the AGA voted to immediately open a short bidding cycle for EuroGames 2028 which will be decided this autumn, whilst the regular cycle for EuroGames 2029 will open in April as usual.  

Board member elections also took place resulting in Erika Patrikainen being elected as Co-President alongside the re-election of existing Co-President Hugh Torrance. Existing Board member Javier Pellón was elected on a one year mandate as General Secretary, with Victoria Ash elected as a Board Member at Large, joining the other current Board members Bo Madsen, George Kardaras, and Marcel Kreissig, who continues as Treasurer. 

Other motions which were voted on included the confirmation of a gender equality framework being incorporated into our bylaws in an important step forward for EGLSF to affirm our commitments to improve gender equality. Former Board Member, General Secretary, Co-President and ongoing ENGSO representative Sarah Townsend was awarded an Honorary Membership in a members vote.  

Other key highlights included a celebration of member club anniversaries, forthcoming member events, and activity priorities for 2025-26, and the selection of Gay Sportsclub Ketelbinkie as the host of the 2026 Assembly in Rotterdam. 

The aforementioned Jocs Taronga which took place alongside the AGA, featured 17 sports from beach volleyball to taekwondo, providing athletes with an opportunity to celebrate their identities and engage in sport within a supportive and diverse environment. AGA participants also had the pleasure of joining the participating athletes at their Saturday evening gala dinner and celebrations. 

A huge thanks goes to the Samarucs organising team with special thanks to Angélica Sáenz, Javier Gil Quintana and Jon Landa, and the amazing volunteers. The atmosphere in Valencia was collegiate, convivial and optimistic, with members reflecting on the successes of the gathering and feeling energised for the year ahead. It was clear that the EGLSF community and the European LGBTIQ+ sports movement is as strong as ever, underscored by the incredible success of Jocs Taronja. We look forward to another great year of work together, and seeing everyone together again in Rotterdam 2026.