New FA rules require trans men to say they are “biologically female” to play football

The Football Association now requires transgender men to say they are ​“biologically female”, following the UK Supreme Court’s ruling on 16 April that the legal definition of a ​“woman” is based on biological sex.

The new rules imposed by the FA, English football​’s governing body, also require trans men to agree they ​“have a greater risk of injury when playing against adult biological males”.

The FA said the change in policy, which came into effect in June, was written in collaboration with their legal counsel to align with the new legal framework. The association said that the new rules in place for trans men were ​“not an ideological judgement”, but necessary following the ruling.

In order to play in FA competitions in the 2025 – 26 season, trans men must complete a form stating that they are ​“a biological female whose gender identity is male or non-binary who would like to compete in open age matches and competitions that are reserved for men”.

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The form also requires acknowledgement that ​“there are physiological and performance differences between adult biological females and adult biological males”, resulting in ​“a greater risk of injury”, and requires trans men to have a testosterone level ​“in the normal adult male range” of 7.7 to 29.4 nanomoles per litre of blood.

Although trans men are permitted to play if they agree to the terms of the form, trans women have been banned from female football in FA competitions since 1 June. A previous version of the policy required trans players to register to play football in their preferred gender category, but used different language. This policy – released in April before the Supreme Court ruling – required players to ​“acknowledge and accept the possible increased injury risk associated with female-to-male transgender individuals”.

One anonymous transgender footballer, who has played men’s football at amateur level, told the BBC: ​“I am not a biological female, I am a man.

“I highly doubt many trans men would agree to sign a document with that language in it, so it feels like a ban on the sly,” he continued”. 

The FA told the BBC: ​“We published our updated transgender policy last month to help ensure both the FA and our local County FA network would be able to operate within this new legal framework following the Supreme Court ruling in April 2025.

“We remain committed to supporting transgender players who meet the requirements of our new policy so they can continue to play football.”

Mol­ly Bak­er is a free­lance jour­nal­ist. Fol­low her on Insta­gram.

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