Matilda Tameka Yallop reveals why Pride Round is so important for players

Three-time Olympian Tameka Yallop was so fearful of not being accepted she lived a double life for almost a decade. She explains why initiatives like Pride Round do still matter.

She is a mum, three-time Olympian, one of the most capped Matildas players, but for close to a decade Tameka Yallop felt she had no option but to live a double life.

In one life, the one she shared with her family, she hid her sexuality from everyone.

It was only when she was around her football family at Brisbane Roar and the Matildas she felt safe enough to be her true self.

These days the relationship status of the Matildas or most athletes around the world are far from secret.

Social media plays a role but so did the surge in acceptance for not just same sex relationships but the LGBTQIA+ community.

“I had two separate lives, I kept it away from my family and my school life at the time and for me it was really just my teammates and my environment around football where I could relax and get on with who I was,” Yallop said.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – NOVEMBER 22: Tameka Yallop of the Roar in action during the round four A-League Women's match between Western Sydney Wanderers and Brisbane Roar at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium on November 22, 2024 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

The 33-year-old said had initiatives like this week’s A-League’s Pride Round been more prevalent when she was growing up it might not have taken her close to 10 years to come out to her family.

“Everyone’s journey is still quite different and it really depends on your home environment that you grow up in,” Yallop said.

“That sort of inclusiveness didn’t really happen until it was more visible to them that there were lots of other people in the community that were like me.

“Until they started to see more of it was when I felt comfortable coming out.

“I think having that exposure and people being able to see it as normal, really does help change people’s opinions and make people a little bit more open-hearted.

“I saw the change in my family first and that is what made me comfortable with coming out.

“It was like my two worlds merged and I could just be comfortable, be myself whether that’s in public or privately.”

Matildas star Tameka Yallop on the Gold Coast with her family, Kirsty Yallop (left) and daughter Harley in 2023. Picture Glenn Hampson

Visibility is one of the reasons Yallop says Pride Round still has a role to play.

“There are a lot of people that still struggle with it, if you don’t have that support network at home, you do need to be able to visibly see it somewhere else to be able to find that comfort,” Yallop said.

The round will be held across three weeks in both the men’s and women’s matches from March 14-30.

A-League's were the first league in the world to hold simultaneous men’s and women’s Pride Celebrations, with this year the third.

As part of the celebration which has a huge focus on inclusivity and a partnership between the APL, PFA and Pride Cup – players and staff take part in a series of training programs.

Yallop, who married now retired New Zealand footballer Kirsty in 2019, also hopes that she can inspire and help others on a journey similar to hers. The couple welcomed their daughter Harley to the world in 2020.

She is almost as well known as her mums – running out to sold out stadiums to stand next to Yallop as she sings the National Anthem before a Matildas game.

“It’s important just to see the everyday person living their everyday life,” Yallop said.

“I don’t try to push (my sexuality) on social media or anything like that, I’m just making the same everyday family posts that you would see in a heterosexual family.

“I think I just try to put it in there as normal as I can and that is a responsibility that I feel because for me it is just part of my normal life.

“I do hope it helps other people as well.”

Brisbane Roar will host Newcastle Jets on Sunday at 5.30pm (AEST).

Originally published as Matilda Tameka Yallop reveals why Pride Round is so important for players