» Mark Hyndman of Brighton Bandits
Mark Hyndman plays for Brighton Bandits FC. Paul Disney caught up with him to discover some home truths about gay and straight men and football clubs
Describe yourself
MH: I am a very committed person from a relationship, sport and business environment perspective. I have a vocation that demands the best of me, and certainly takes up most of my time during the week, so at weekends and particular evenings, that is my time, and I certainly take advantage of it.
Explain what the Brighton Bandits is all about
MH: The Bandits were formed to allow those who wanted to play football, who perhaps felt intimidated by the volatile, and to a degree, the homophobic world of football, the opportunity to play, have a kick about, and meet like minded people. We encourage people of all ages, and abilities to come and play with us.
What is the GFSN?
MH: The GFSN – short for the Gay Footballers Support Network was formed to promote the support and participation of gay men and women in football. The GFSN works to establish a social network for gay football supporters, to encourage the formation of gay teams for players of all abilities and we campaign against homophobia in football, with a view to creating a tolerant environment and to gain the respect and recognition for gay involvement in football.
Who are your main rivals in the GFSN National League?
MH: Our local rivals would be Bournemouth, or perhaps one of the London teams, but our longer standing rivals, and the team we beat to win the league title two years ago, are Village Manchester.
We always have a ‘tasty’ game when we play them, winning away at Manchester to clinch the league title, when a draw was not good enough, still ranks as one of our best games ever!
Is the Brighton Bandits open to all the LGBT communities?
MH: The Brighton Bandits, is not only open to all LGBT communities, but all communities, contrary to popular belief, we are not an exclusively gay club, we are a club where gay people can come and play in a welcoming environment. We also encompass a number of ‘straight’ players at present, so we have no problems about peoples backgrounds, ethnicity or sexual orientation.
How refreshing is it to do something that is ‘gay’ related but healthy and sporty? And not the usual bar and club scene?
MH: From a personal perspective, and I think a few other guys in the team too, I have always tried to keep myself in good shape. This is not pandering to the stereotype that has crept into the gay scene over the last decade to ‘look’ a certain way, and have a body that is more akin to an Abercrombie catalogue! I merely like to keep myself fit. I have only been ‘out’ now for about six years, but don’t do anything differently now, than before I came out, and to be honest, as much as we are a predominately (not exclusively) a team of gay guys, when we cross that white line to play a match, nobody is even thinking about the gay thing, we are doing what we all enjoy, and that’s football.
How would someone go about joining the Brighton Bandits?
MH: Well, I would say there are many different ways. First and foremost, they can check out our website at www.banditsfc.co.uk for when our matches are, come along introduce themselves and see what they think. They can just turn up at training on a Sunday, again, check the web site for latest info. They can come to the Amsterdam on the first Friday of each month and introduce themselves, or they can contact myself. Or even leave their details at the Amsterdam and one of the committee will contact them.
What’s been your most memorable game of football in the GFSN?
MH: I think when you get asked this question, there are always a few that stand out, your debut is always important, maybe when you personally have had a blinding game, but I would say there have been two really great games. One was last season when after playing seven games and winning the lot, an undefeated Yorkshire team came to play us at home, thinking we would be their eighth in a row, we turned them over 4-0! Suffice to say they were not happy!
Certainly one of the most rewarding wins, had to be the game which clinched us the league title against Manchester. That was a great day, and one that will live long in the memory.
What do ‘straight’ football teams have to say about the Brighton Bandits?
MH: That’s a good question. If you were to ask them privately, I’m not really sure what they would say, but openly, we have not really come across any negative feeling. Having said that, it would be fair to mention that when we have played ‘straight’ teams, they are not too keen on proceedings when we are in the lead.
Overall though, I think who ever you are playing, you have to respect the 11 men you are competing against, and I think that we would give most teams a tough game, and I think that is all you can ask of any team, gay straight or mixed.
What future is there for the Brighton Bandits, what have you got coming up over 2008?
MH: Well, we have a very busy 2008, this is mainly because we have not played too many league matches in AW2007 with a number of fixtures being called off due to bad weather etc.
We hope that we can obtain enough points over the remainder of the season to secure a European place at least! (for those who don’t understand that joke, finish in the top four places) We are constantly looking for new players.
And the Gay World Cup?
We are hoping to be able to pull a team together to compete, but a week off for most guys to play football is a bit prohibitive, so we could end up with a few players linking with other teams to form a more ‘English’ rather than a pure local team.
The fact the gay World cup is coming to Britain should be utilised to really promote our league. The standard is extremely high, with the top teams playing football that would otherwise secure a place in the higher echelons of our non league football in this country.
