Josh Cavallo, the first top-flight male professional soccer star to come out as gay, has blazed a new trail by proposing to his partner on the pitch of his club.
The Australian player made history in 2021 when he posted an emotional online video of him coming out and vowing to change the sport’s culture “to show that everyone is welcome in the game of football.”
His announcement was hailed as a watershed moment in a sport with a long and troubled history of entrenched homophobia, particularly in the men’s game.
Since then, Cavallo, 24, has become one of the most recognizable faces in the sport and an outspoken advocate for greater equality for the LGBTQ community.
On Thursday, he announced that he had proposed to his fiancée at Coopers Stadium, home pitch of his Australian A-League team Adelaide United.
Alongside a picture of him down on one knee, holding out a ring, Cavallo declared in a post on X: “Starting this year with my fiancée.”
Other photos showed the player beaming while his partner covered his eyes and a close-up of the two holding hands.
Cavallo thanked his team “for helping set up this surprise.”
“You have provided a safe space in football, one that I never in my dreams thought could ever be possible,” he wrote on X, adding that he wanted to “share this special moment on the pitch, where it all started.”