Wycombe Wanderers, a League One team, has made headlines by signing Richard Kone, a non-league striker who was left homeless in his native country due to his sexual orientation. Kone, who is only the second openly gay player in England’s top four divisions, was introduced to the Adams Park crowd before the team’s recent victory over Bristol Rovers.
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Kone, who has been excelling with Athletic Newham in the Essex Senior League, found himself homeless in Ivory Coast after coming out to his parents. However, he managed to participate in the Homeless World Cup in Cardiff four years ago before joining Athletic Newham, where he has scored an impressive 21 goals this season.
After a lengthy trial period, Wycombe manager Matt Bloomfield successfully secured Kone’s signature, beating out competition from clubs like Brentford and Colchester.
Reflecting on his difficult journey, Kone, who has now reconciled with his mother, stated, “I was living on the street after I had some problems with my parents because I am homosexual. It was terribly difficult being homeless in my country.”
Although being gay is not illegal in Ivory Coast, discrimination against homosexuality is widespread, and there are no legal protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
Currently, the only other openly gay player in men’s professional football in England is Blackpool’s Jake Daniels.
Bloomfield, who was the first footballer to sign the Football v Homophobia Charter for Action, expressed his satisfaction with the signing, saying, “It’s been a long saga. Richard played for us in pre-season, and we tried to sign him during the summer transfer window. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen for various reasons, so it’s been four or five months in the making. Richard is a young lad, and we have to be careful not to put too much pressure on him. However, he has shown his goal-scoring abilities and has been working hard behind the scenes. We have signed him to a long contract and are excited to develop him into a great player. We want to have our own assets here and nurture our own players.”