Many events have already taken place at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris, even before the July 26 Opening Ceremony. On July 25, six women’s soccer match-ups took place in the first of three First Round games…and ~37~ queer players were in those matches in a single day.
Among the 37 women’s soccer players is powerhouse Marta of Brazil, who helped lead her team with seven other queer players to a 1-0 victory over Nigeria. Australia, with 10 out queer players—more than any other Olympic team—lost 3-0 to Germany (with three out queer players), but their dreams aren’t over yet. All teams will compete in two more matches in the First Round on July 28 and 31 before the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals. In the other games, Spain (five out players) beat Japan 2-1, Canada (three out players) triumphed 2-1 over New Zealand (one out player), the U.S. (one out player) won against Zambia, and France (two out players) was victorious 3-2 against Colombia (three out players).
Head coach of reigning Olympic women’s soccer champions Canada, Bev Priestman, has been suspended for the remainder of the Games due to an incident where her team was accused of spying on New Zealand’s team practices via drone. Priestman, who issued an apology but also maintains she did not know of the spying, is married to Emma Humphries, former New Zealand soccer player and current head coach of Canada’s Under-17 women’s national soccer team.
This year, 155 out LGBTQ+ Olympians have been counted by OutSports. A full 84.5 percent of those athletes are participating in the women’s category of their sport. Nearly a quarter of all out LGBTQ+ Olympians are women’s soccer players. The only other sports that come close are women’s rugby with 13 out players, women’s field hockey with 12 out players, and women’s basketball with nine out players (seven of them playing for the U.S.).
Two Olympians (both competing under the women’s category) are nonbinary—American runner Nikki Hiltz and Canadian soccer player Quinn. At least three transgender athletes were blocked from participating because of the Olympic Games’ regulations around sex and gender.
