It feels like there is a very concerted 'testing of the waters' or pushing of the boundaries going on in sport at the moment. This goalie is obviously very much invested in the idea of there being no significant advantage for transwomen when they participate in women-only sport. Or, they are invested in the idea of making the arguments that any physical advantages do not outweigh the huge injustice of not allowing a transwoman to play on a woman-only team.
I can only imagine that their fellow team mates are just delighted that they are getting a goal keeper with such a useful physique for the role of goalie. I imagine, for instance, that it would be unlikely that they had the smallest hands on their team and by the looks of things their body, with arms stretched out to the sides, could cover a large area of the goal mouth.
There have been rumblings in the past few months with the FA and grass -roots women's teams. A number of LGBTQI-friendly teams have boycotted the amateur Super 5 league because they objected to their 'transphobic' regulations. One team, Camden Bells FC, wrote to the FA demanding the 'immediate removal of invasive medical tests which examine the hormone levels of trans non-binary people before they are cleared to play'.
I think this might refer not only to testing for reduced testosterone levels in non-binary trans people who were born male but also to test for significantly increased testosterone levels in non-binary trans people who are taking testosterone to masculinise their born female bodies. I guess if everybody is happy playing on a mixed team then that's fine.
I think mixed football teams that are LGBTQI inclusive have justifiably a lot of support. And it's great that these exist so that all people can be included in a sport they love. But the clash exists when all-women teams suddenly have players who have been through a male puberty - and then play other teams who don't. I suppose the only way to make it 'fair' then, would be for all women's teams to allow transwomen to play. But would there be a cap on the number of transwomen allowed in a women-only team?
I would be interested to read the PhD research that Blair (the goalie for Hastings) has recently completed. I would like to see the evidence that proves that there is no residual physical advantage to them playing on an all-female team. I wonder whether there is as much of a push to get many transmen onto men's teams?
Anyway, it will be interesting to see how the FA react. I certainly wouldn't like to be a female footballer who wanted to play women's football but by expressing this preference would be ostracised and labelled as a bigot. I'm sure there are many LGB women footballers out there waiting to get some much-needed clarity on this.