France allows transgender women to play rugby

The French Rugby Federation board on Monday unanimously voted in favour of the rule and allowed transgender women who are transitioning from male to female.

The move goes against guidance from World Rugby, which last year recommended that transgender women should not play in women's elite or international teams for safety reasons.

Resisting official advice, the French federation issued a statement saying its executive board unanimously voted in favour of the proposal from its Anti-Discrimination and Equal Treatment Commission.

“The FFR is against all forms of discrimination and works daily to ensure that everyone can exercise their free will in rugby without constraint.” FFR vice president Serge Simon said.

To be eligible for the sport, (transgender women) “must certify that they have been on hormonal treatment for at least 12 months”, according to FRF.

The FFR thus becomes the first national federation in France to allow transgender women to take part in elite sport. However, the sport’s global governing body said in October that contact rugby is not recommended for transgender women.

“Safety and fairness cannot presently be assured for women competing against trans women in contact rugby”, the World Rugby said in a statement.