Inside the dressing room before Josh Cavallo came out

January 14, 2026 Oliver Obel

A new Australian football documentary is about to show something fans did not see at the time: the private conversation that came just minutes before Josh Cavallo publicly came out as gay.

The footage, filmed during Adelaide United’s 2021–22 season, captures Cavallo speaking to his teammates in the dressing room shortly before he released a statement and video on social media. The Australian A-League-produced documentary revisits that season and the personal moment that made global headlines.

Cavallo was 22 when he became the world’s only openly gay active male professional footballer in October 2021. His announcement was widely shared online, beginning with a simple declaration: “I’m a footballer and I’m gay.”

“All I want to do is play football and be treated equally,” he said in the video posted that day.

What was not public at the time was the conversation that preceded it. According to the documentary trailer, Cavallo chose to tell his Adelaide United teammates first, explaining his decision face to face before making it public.

In the footage, he describes the toll of keeping his sexuality private throughout his life.

“For all my life growing up, I’ve learned to live a life of lies, you know,” Cavallo says in the clip.

He then tells the room what he is about to do. “For the last six years, I’ve been struggling with my sexuality. So today, I’ll be coming out to the public that I’m gay, I’m a gay footballer.”

Teammates are shown responding immediately, offering handshakes and hugs once he finishes speaking.

Cavallo later reflected on that moment in an interview with GOAL, describing the nerves he felt just before sharing his announcement online.

“Twenty minutes before I pressed the post button, I was in the changing room with all my teammates and coaches. I was very nervous, my heart was beating so quickly when I announced it,” he said.

“It was so emotional, something I’ll remember for the rest of my life. Everyone gave me a big hug and said, ‘We’re so proud you can tell us who you really are.’”

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What stood out to him most, he said, was how quickly life returned to normal afterward. “What amazed me the most was that, 30 seconds after I made that announcement, me and the boys went straight back to talking about football and everything was normal again.”

At the elite level of men’s football, such moments remain rare. Few male professionals have chosen to come out during their playing careers.

Former Germany international Thomas Hitzlsperger spoke publicly about being gay in 2013, a year after retiring from football. That same year, Robbie Rogers came out while announcing his retirement from Leeds United, later returning to the sport with LA Galaxy in Major League Soccer.

More recently, Blackpool forward Jake Daniels became the UK’s first active male professional footballer to come out publicly as gay. Speaking earlier this year, Daniels said he hoped his decision would help others.

“I am hoping that by coming out, I can be a role model, to help others come out if they want to,” Daniels said.

“I am only 17 but I am clear that this is what I want to do and if, by me coming out, other people look at me and feel maybe they can do it as well, that would be brilliant.”

For Cavallo, the documentary footage adds context to a moment that was already historic. It shows not just the public statement that followed, but the private support that made it possible.

Sources: GOAL, Australian A-League