70 people attend Pride in London parade with the Charlton Family
- Organisers say more than 1.5 million people took to the streets to celebrate the event
- Second year in a row CACT has taken part in the parade
Building on last year’s success, 70 people joined a Charlton Athletic group taking part in Pride in London on Saturday 6 July.
More than 30,000 people from over 600 different groups, including Charlton Athletic Community Trust (CACT), took part in this year’s parade.
The event saw CACT celebrate the achievements of CACT Invicta FC, the first LGBTQI+ friendly team to become affiliated to a professional football club’s community trust, and Proud Valiants, Charlton’s official LGBTQI+ supporters’ group.
The Charlton Family were represented by Charlton fans, CACT Invicta and Proud Valiants, as well as students from the University of Greenwich, young people from CACT’s National Citizen Service programme and Young Greenwich, the youth service CACT delivers on behalf of the Royal Borough of Greenwich. Representatives from CACT Principal Partner ITRM were also present.
This year, they were also joined at Pride by a growing number of organisations from across football, including the FA.
Participants wore special ‘We are going up’ t-shirts to celebrate the club gaining promotion to the Championship after winning the Play-Off Final at Wembley.
Daniel Jenkins, a player for CACT Invicta, said:
“It’s so important because it’s a celebration for people who for years have not had the opportunity to celebrate.
“We have annual tournaments at The Valley and CACT have always been very supportive of CACT Invicta as a club and the stuff we do.”
Dr Michael Seeraj, CACT’s Head of Equality, Diversity & Inclusion, said:
“What an incredible day, we had such a great representation from across the Charlton Family and one of the biggest walking groups in the parade.
“It was quite a spectacular event, and the interaction and positivity from everyone there, from a wide range of different communities and backgrounds, was a real example of how diversity and inclusion really works. We can’t wait until next year!”
