- FIFPRO's Footballers Unfiltered, hosted by Joe Hart, enables current and former footballers to have open conversations about the rarely seen side of the profession
- The third episode of the monthly series sees Adelaide United’s Josh Cavallo join Hart to discuss coming out as gay in men’s professional football
- "Football has a space for people like me and I'm really proud to be wearing the flag," says Cavallo
Australian midfielder Josh Cavallo was the latest guest on FIFPRO’s Footballers Unfiltered series with Joe Hart, reflecting on the last four years since coming out publicly as gay in professional men’s football.
At the time in October 2021, Cavallo, then 21, was the only current openly gay male top-flight professional footballer. He made the announcement in a video and open letter on social media.
Speaking on Footballers Unfiltered, Cavallo said: "I got to a point in my life where I wanted to live authentically; I felt quite stuck and it did affect my mental health quite a lot. Looking back, it was the best move and decision I've ever made.
"We're in 2025 now and so much has happened in the meantime. I'm proud of myself, the people around me, my support network, and how we've correlated and changed things around football, but we also have to realise there's still a long way to go."
FIFA estimates that there are around 130,000 professional footballers in the men’s game, yet there are only a few current active players who have come out publicly, such as Jake Daniels and Jakub Jankto.
It raises questions about how men’s football can be more inclusive to create a supportive environment where gay players feel comfortable about being open with their sexual orientation.
"There was no one that I had when I was younger to look up to," said Cavallo on the lack of openly gay men’s players. "And that's a representation I want to be for the younger generation, for the next to come through to say, ‘It's possible no matter what you do, what you love, it's about your talent, and we can make that work’. I think I'm walking proof of that in football."
Cavallo also talked about challenging stigmas. He said: "For me, gay men are looked upon differently. They're looked upon weaker, they're looked upon not masculine. That means they're not going to be at their best, that means they're not going to be the best footballer. And it has such a negative connotation to it.
"For me, showing weakness or showing something about yourself that you don't think is the strongest point doesn't actually bring you down. It leads you into growing, growing into being a better person, growing into being a better player, doing things that will improve your game."
Cavallo talked about the support he has received from team-mates and opponents. He said: "I'm glad now I can step on the field, and I can be who I am and in the competition of Australia in the A-League, I haven't come across anyone on the field that uses it in a negative way.
"Football has a space for people like me and I'm really proud to be wearing the flag."
Former Manchester City goalkeeper Hart acknowledged that "men's football still has a long way to go before everyone truly feels included, as well as represented in the sport".
The 75-time England international said: "I've been around football for a long, long time. Conversations about sexuality, gay players being in the dress room, it's always been a hot topic, something that the media seemed to drive a lot more than players, if I'm being brutally honest, but it felt like it was always there. It felt like a huge relief when [Josh] stepped up in 2021 and was just honest."
Hart added: "I look in dressing rooms now and towards the end of my career, I was lucky enough to realise that just being yourself and being honest was such an empowering thing."
FIFPRO’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Manager Erica Puppo, who joined Cavallo and Hart for the episode, said: "I think now, with stories like Josh, there's more and more awareness that these conversations need to happen, and they need to happen within a men's football context as well.
"There's some great work done by our unions directly with footballers around the world and more education, conversations like this, and safe spaces are still necessary for us to really advance when it comes to diversity and inclusion, and when it comes to supporting more and more of inclusive spaces where people can feel safe in showing up as who they are, as themselves, without having to keep parts of themselves hidden."
Footballers Unfiltered is a monthly series celebrating FIFPRO’s 60th year of serving players. All episodes can be accessed HERE.
