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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina. Sports have historically been a space of exclusion for LGBT people, particularly trans people. In recent years, civil society organizations have worked intensively for inclusion and access to sports activities, both amateur and professional. Despite significant progress internationally, the participation of athletes with non-conforming identities in competitions and tournaments has been questioned in recent years.

In Argentina, LGBT+ people have begun to become more visible, but access has not been easy. Last week, an important step was taken: the Argentine LGBT+ Federation signed its membership in the Argentine Sports Confederation , an organization that brings together Olympians and non-Olympians. "This alliance marks the beginning of joint actions to expand rights and accessibility, with a special focus on the participation of transgender people in competitive sports," the Federation announced.

Before and after in sports life

Maco Santucho is a 32-year-old non-binary transvestite from the province of Tucumán, Argentina. She's multifaceted: an actress, performer, and presenter, she studies at the National University of Tucumán, and she plays volleyball. She started playing sports at a very young age. Her family took her to various disciplines, such as tae kwon do, swimming, hockey, and basketball. At 12, she discovered volleyball and fell in love with it. 

“Sports have taught me many things and taught me many values: teamwork, learning from others, learning more about my body and acquiring tools to take care of it. But most importantly, it has allowed me to meet people all over the country, giving me the opportunity to build bonds based on love and support, bringing many of my family back to life,” she tells Presentes .

There were ups and downs: “My experience was sometimes painful. Especially when I was coaching at clubs, it was very difficult and painful. Sometimes, it was because of the discrimination and harassment I suffered daily on the pitch, in the locker room, and at training sessions, from some of my teammates and coaches. Sometimes, it was because of the fans, who came to watch the games and shouted hurtful things from the stands,” he explains.

“Access to sports is very difficult for the LGBT+ community, especially for trans people. Most clubs or sports venues, such as tournaments, engage in discriminatory, misogynistic, and binary practices that exclude our experiences and violate our identities,” she adds.

Because of this, Maco stopped coaching at clubs at one point and stepped back from sports for a while, until he discovered there were teams for people of color and returned to coaching. “These safe places, created by and for people of color, are really important. They're places where we can learn, exercise, share life as ourselves, and, above all, create bonds based on love and respect with other people in the same situation. That changed many of our lives for the better,” he says. 

Friendlier and safer spaces

Emanuel Navarro was never interested in soccer. “It seemed to be the only thing us 'little boys' were destined for,” he says. He's 28 years old, gay, was born in Victoria, Entre Ríos, and has lived in Rosario for ten years. His first exposure was to hockey, invited by a group of teachers to a club when he was 9 years old.

“It turned out to be a mixed team, with three or four 'men' (today all gay) and the rest cis women. Obviously, there were no heterosexual men because it was (is?) a sport associated with femininity. I will be eternally grateful to those teachers who went to a public elementary school to find this gay girl and gave her a place to enjoy,” she recalls. 

She enjoyed hockey, the tournaments, and the team. The problems were off the field. “My routine to get to the club consisted of leaving my house walking with my stick slung over my shoulder, swinging my waist a little. I frequently received accusatory glances on the street, mockery, and insults, which I didn't respond to because I felt defenseless. On the field, the hockey field was behind the soccer field; to get there, I had to walk across it. On that walk, the mockery continued,” she recalls.

As a teenager, he discovered volleyball, the sport that was his gateway to Yaguaretés , a dissident sports group in Rosario, where he is a teacher.

“It's very important to build role models and make our experiences visible. To show that we exist and that we resist. To break into spaces that were denied to us and work to change them, making them friendlier and safer. When someone reaches an important place, we celebrate fervently, but we shouldn't rest on our laurels. It's necessary to act as an amplifier for the many voices that are hidden and silenced. We have to step up, disrupt, and problematize,” she says.

Connecting with the body and Pride

Kei Castillo is a swimmer and was the 400-meter freestyle champion at the 2024 IGLA World Championships . He believes sport is a fundamental part of being a person. "It's about belonging, self-improvement, discipline, camaraderie, and the continuation of rights, but within the LGBT community. It has the added advantage of being a space for achievement, vindication, and recovery of what was taken from us for many years."

“As a trans person, I can say that it's also about connecting with my body from a different perspective. It's a source of pride in sports, education, national and neighborhood representation, and a reason for celebration, when a few years ago it was a source of exclusion and fear. In some cases, it still is, but since Law 26743 on Gender Identity, sports and my body are one, in a struggle that also paves the way for others.” 

Kei is also the president of the Sports League for and by transgender, trans, and non-binary people. "Many of these difficulties stem from a lack of experience and knowledge about what we can and cannot do in sports environments, from the smallest to the most complex (registration, locker room, discipline, competition, etc.). In the face of this lack of knowledge, society presents a barrier."

And he adds, "Our job as a league is precisely to generate experience, occupy spaces, break down myths, expand participation, and mediate between these spaces and trans people in sports. We've achieved many changes; like everything, it ultimately comes down to shedding light on prejudice and ideas about what hasn't yet been established."

Playing sports is a human right

Access to sport is a human right recognized by the United Nations and enshrined in Argentina by Law No. 20,655. However, it remains difficult for LGBTIQ+ people , according to those interviewed.

A 2023 report by a United Nations (UN) expert group urged “elite sports bodies to consider the implications of their decisions not only for LGBT and intersex athletes and people participating in sports at all levels,” but also their impact “on broader societal perceptions and the ideal of inclusive sport.”

Zorres: The Non-Binary Sports Community

In this context, teams and events are emerging so that people of diverse sexual orientation can enjoy sports in spaces of respect and free from discrimination. 

One of them is Zorres , in the City of Buenos Aires. It is a non-binary, non-competitive sports community with a dissident perspective. It is an open and horizontal civil association whose board of directors is made up mostly of transvestite, trans, and non-binary people. It has 50 members and around 70 people who train volleyball and/or basketball weekly.

“Zorres was born with the goal of creating a safe space for the LGBTTTIQ+ community, enabling the return and (in many cases) the first exposure to sport for people historically excluded from experiencing and enjoying it. We propose different ways of experiencing sport: we celebrate both a converted point and a failed attempt, and we seek to guarantee access, permanence, and enjoyment, without ableist or exclusionary rules,” Kiki Rodríguez, a trans, brown, and non-binary activist and president of the Zorres Civil Association, tells Presentes . She is also a primary school teacher and a secondary school teacher for young people and adults at the Mocha Celis Popular Travesti, Trans, and Non-Binary Baccalaureate.

First TTNB sports league in Latin America

The TTNB Sports League was born with Javier Milei's rise to power and has been around for two years. "We're the first association of its kind in Latin America. That idea of ​​putting ten trans kids in a pool uncovered a pot of needs that had been bottled up," says Kei. 

“We get together to play sports because trans people basically don't have the space to do so. We're working on modifying international and national sports laws to generate more inclusion. But what started as a way to be able to play sports peacefully has now become a comprehensive support network. Because when you play sports, you have to be able to eat or sleep. To compete, you have to be fit. And we're basically providing food assistance, assistance with hormones, and generating resources,” Kei explains. 

Among the most notable actions was the support for Bonaparte workers, where they created a kind of Tinder to connect doctors with patients who were left without care.

National Meeting of dissident teams

For five years, Zorres has promoted a National Meeting in which more than 300 athletes from dissident sports teams from different parts of the country participate.

“The Gathering emerged as a way to celebrate our anniversary as a group and share it with those working for inclusive sport across the country. We celebrate through play, promoting the same approach to non-competitive sport that we practice at Zorres. Additionally, the event includes a space for reflection on how non-competitive play and non-binary sport can prevent violence,” Kiki shares. 

This year marks the 5th edition of the event. More than 30 teams will meet on Saturday, September 13th, at the Colegiales Sports Center in Buenos Aires, to play basketball, soccer, and volleyball. The event continues on Sunday, September 14th, at the Cueva Social Club, where they will share a meal and bingo with prizes.

“Our goal is that, regardless of age, gender, or body type, everyone can enjoy the game on equal terms. The goal is simple and powerful: that every person can participate, touch the ball, make decisions, and enjoy the game without being labeled as 'better' or 'worse.' We play with people, not against them. That's why, while other venues talk about tournaments, we call it a meeting,” he clarifies.

Make visible, always

In addition to these spaces, making LGBTIQ+ people visible in sports becomes crucial to breaking down the barriers they face in this field. In July of this year, Boca Juniors' basketball team was crowned two-time champion of the tournament after defeating Instituto 78-77. During the celebration, Sebastián Vega stood on a hoop with the LGBT flag to celebrate . "It's a message of self-improvement: everyone can be who they want and achieve their goals," he told the media after the celebration.

“Our presence on the fields, in neighborhood clubs, and in municipal sports facilities is a political act: we show ourselves as protagonists, we open up the possibility of access and permanence to everyone, and we fulfill a role that the State still doesn't guarantee, which is the right to be who we are and enjoy sports. We also pave the way for children and adolescents, so they know that there's no single way to play and that their lives are as valid as anyone else's,” Rodríguez asserts.