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Josh Cavallo
Joshua John Cavallo (born 13 November 1999) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a left back and central midfielder for A-League Men club Adelaide United. Cavallo has represented the Australian under-20 national team. Cavallo is also known for being the first openly gay player in professional top-flight football, after coming out in 2021. Early lifeJoshua John Cavallo[2] was born on 13 November 1999 in Bentleigh East, Victoria.[3] He is of Italian and Maltese descent.[4] He says that he was initially more into playing tennis, but his brother encouraged him to kick a ball around in the backyard and it was not long before he "fell in love" with the game.[5] CareerYouth Cavallo was scouted by a national program at the age of 15, and later offered a scholarship by Melbourne Victory.[5] He represented both Melbourne Victory FC Youth and Melbourne City FC Youth.[6] Western UnitedOn 15 April 2019, Melbourne City announced that Cavallo would leave the club at the expiration of his contract at the end of the 2018–19 season.[7] On 24 June 2019, new A-League side Western United,[8] representing western Melbourne suburbs and western Victorian regional towns,[9] announced that Cavallo would join the club ahead of its inaugural season.[8] He made his debut on 3 January 2020 in a 3–2 loss at his previous club. On as a 71st-minute substitute for Apostolos Stamatelopoulos, he earned a penalty when fouled by goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis, which was converted by Besart Berisha.[10] Western United announced that Cavallo was leaving the club on 10 February 2021[11] to seek more playing time with another A-League club. Adelaide UnitedOn 18 February 2021, Cavallo signed a short-term contract to play for Adelaide United.[12] After a successful stint in the 2020–21 A-League, he signed a two-year contract extension on 11 May.[13] He was rewarded with Adelaide United's A-League Rising Star award after a successful 2020–21 campaign, in which he started 15 games and made 18 appearances.[14] He plays as a left back and central midfielder for the club.[15] National teamCavallo was in the Australian under-19 national team which played in the 2018 AFC U-19 Championship in October–November 2018, starting with a game against Korea Republic.[16] Cavallo has represented the Australian under-20 national team.[17][18] Cavallo hoped to make the team at the 2022 FIFA World Cup,[19] but was not selected to play. He was disappointed at FIFA's decision to ban players from wearing "OneLove" armbands at the tournament[20] Personal lifeHe came out as gay in October 2021.[21][5] At the time, there were no other openly gay male footballers playing professional top-flight football. He said in a statement, "I hope that in sharing who I am, I can show others who identify as LGBTQ+ that they are welcome in the football community".[22] Cavallo said he had "never smiled so much in my life" and had "the best night's sleep" after his announcement.[23] He was fully and explicitly supported by Adelaide United management and fellow players.[24][25] The announcement was widely reported in the international press,[26] and Cavallo received messages of support from many football players, including Gerard Piqué, Marcus Rashford, Antoine Griezmann,[5] Jordan Henderson,[23] Gary Lineker,[5] and Lionel Messi, as well as fans, strangers, and celebrities such as Lil Nas X and Ellen DeGeneres.[24] Cavallo was the first high-profile player to come out during their career since English footballer Justin Fashanu made a similar announcement in 1990. Fashanu faced widespread homophobia after the announcement.[24][a] In May 2022 English footballer Jake Daniels came out, aged 17, becoming the UK's only male professional footballer to be publicly out at the time, and the first since Fashanu.[29] He cited Cavallo among those who had helped him to come out.[30] In March 2024, Cavallo proposed to his partner Leighton Morrell on the pitch at Coopers Stadium, Adelaide United's home ground.[31] He posted three photos on Instagram, one of which showed Morrell wearing an engagement ring, and thanked his club for their support and encouragement to live his life authentically.[32] RecognitionHe won Adelaide United's Rising Star award for the 2020/2021 season.[5] In 2022, Cavallo received an honorary doctorate from Flinders University in Adelaide, in recognition of "his exceptional contributions as a role model in elite men's sport and as a champion for equality".[18] Cavallo was nominated as 2023 SA Young Australian of the Year.[18] Career statistics
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