Announcements
Published: 1 September 2025 by mbelfield
LGBT Foundation, the UK’s leading LGBTQ+ health and wellbeing charity, is delighted to announce Manchester City Women’s football sensation Kerstin Casparij as the charity’s latest Patron. She will support the charity to spotlight the importance of visibility and inclusion for LGBTQ+ women.
Making waves on the pitch as a defender for the Manchester City Women’s team, Kerstin is a vocal advocate for LGBTQ+ equality. She is a role model for young queer people everywhere, championing the visibility of queer women and creating space for them in sport and beyond. Kerstin made global headlines with a powerful show of solidarity with the trans community during a Barclays Women’s Super League match against Everton in 2025.
Her appointment was announced at LGBT Foundation’s Pre-Pride brunch during this year’s Manchester Pride, where her first engagement as Patron saw her march in the Pride Parade alongside the charity’s team, ambassadors and her partner, Ruth.
This appointment follows LGBT Foundation’s landmark campaign This Is What A Woman Looks Like, which celebrates the diversity of women across the LGBTQ+ community and challenge stereotypes of womanhood. Kerstin’s patronship builds on this momentum, reinforcing the importance of visibility and amplifying the voices of LGBTQ+ women.
As a Patron of the charity, Kerstin will continue the ethos of this campaign, championing the inclusion of LGBTQ+ women across the charity’s programmes, services, and events, as well as helping to raise vital funds to ensure that all women have safe and welcoming spaces.
Kerstin joins a powerful line-up of supporters during LGBT Foundation’s 50th anniversary year, including 50th Anniversary Ambassador and RuPaul’s Drag Race UK S6 star Dita Garbo, as well as the charity’s Patrons: TV favourite Owain Wyn Evans, interiors expert Kunal Trehan, and legendary actor, Sir Ian McKellen.
On her appointment, Kerstin Casparij said: “It’s such an honour to become a Patron for LGBT Foundation, especially in their 50th anniversary year. Walking in the Manchester Pride Parade alongside my partner Ruth, the Foundation’s team, and our community was such a special moment for me. I know first-hand how important visibility is — not just on the pitch, but in every part of life. If my voice can help young queer people see that they belong, then that’s something I’m really proud to do. I’m excited to stand with LGBT Foundation to make sure all LGBTQ+ women have the space and support they deserve.”
In a joint statement, Rachel Bottomley and Laura Wilkinson, Co-Managing Directors of LGBT Foundation, said: “On behalf of queer women everywhere, we know how much we need brave, unapologetic voices like Kerstin’s. Too often, the stories and experiences of LGBTQ+ women are overlooked — but representation matters. We are delighted that Kerstin is joining us and lending her voice to our cause.”
Kerstin’s commitment to become a Patron of the charity coincides with LGBT Foundation’s landmark 50th anniversary year, marking five decades of life-saving work in service of LGBTQ+ communities across the UK. It underscores LGBT Foundation’s ongoing commitment to visibility, inclusion, and support for LGBTQ+ communities.
Founded in 1975 as a small helpline run from a flat in Longsight, Manchester, the charity has grown and adapted to meet the ever-changing health, wellbeing, political, and social needs of LGBTQ+ people. Today, LGBT Foundation is the UK’s largest charity dedicated to LGBTQ+ health and wellbeing, supporting over 50,000 LGBTQ+ people, their friends, families, and loved ones each year.
Follow LGBT Foundation and Kerstin Casparij on social media at @lgbtfdn and @kerstin_casparij
For more information about LGBT Foundation, visit www.lgbt.foundation
Learn more about the 50th anniversary celebrations at www.lgbt.foundation/50years
