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A transgender footballer forced to quit a women’s league after opposing teams refused to play against her has a secret past as a sex worker who disguised herself as a “mischievous schoolgirl” to pay clients, MailOnline can reveal.
Fran Needham, 30, withdrew earlier this week from South Yorkshire-based Rossington Main Ladies “for the foreseeable future” after players pulled out of her clash due to alleged “safety” concerns ” last weekend.
Now the feud has taken a new turn as it has emerged that Needham was previously a prostitute who apparently specialized in “cheerleader/schoolgirl” scenarios.
She admitted it had happened but, while acknowledging her colorful past, Needham insisted it should have no bearing on her eligibility to play women’s football.
And she told Mailonline that her opponents were planning to force her out of the game by “dredging up the past”.
Francesca Needham, 30, is a trans footballer who was forced out of the women’s league
On her prostitution profile, she stated that she was happy to see both male and female clients and enjoyed a variety of sexual fetishes, including breastfeeding, role play and foot worship.
Despite Needham boasting about the “extra surprise hidden under my skirt” on her escort profiles, the FA approved the trans woman’s application to play against 16-year-old schoolgirls.
Ms Needham said she was now working full-time in a regular job and was no longer engaged as a sex worker, pointing out that her profile on a sex work website was now redundant.
She said: “It’s not an active profile, I accidentally left it open but it’s something I stopped doing before I started playing football.
“It’s something I’ve done in the past, I agree with that and I’m not going to lie about it. However, everyone has a past and it shouldn’t be brought up out of context.
“I definitely stopped doing that before I joined the team and had anything to do with the FA.
“My personal life is completely separate and distinct from my footballing life. I have a full-time job now and it’s part of my past.
“All I want to be able to do is play football or at least support the team I played for. I’ve received huge support from my teammates and I’m grateful for that.
It is unclear when the sex worker profile was active and Ms Needham declined to discuss it further.
Fran Needham used the username TS_Cleo_King to advertise her sexual services
She said: “I’m open to dinners and other events, and I always look great in a dress, skirt or top”
Ms Needham signed up for an adult site in 2022. Her profile has been viewed over 30,000 times
Her angry reaction came after thousands of likes for posts revealing how Needham had previously advertised her services as a “pre-op trans girl to make your dreams come true”.
Posting a photo of herself in a school outfit, she wrote: “Pre-op transgender girl, ready to make your fantasies come true!” She can also play the role of a mischievous and entertaining schoolgirl revealing an exciting surprise hidden under her skirt.”
Nicknamed Fran, Needham retired from South Yorkshire’s Rossington Main Ladies (pictured), who play in an open age league that welcomes any woman over 16.
The 30-year-old “terrified” her opponents and “broke one girl’s knee, leaving her out for the season, after the opposing player blocked one of Needham’s shots.”
She also suggests that customers might want to play the role of a “naughty schoolgirl” who has been sent to her for “punishment”.
The profile horrified the football community in South Yorkshire, where Ms Needham was forced to leave the Sheffield and Hallamshire Women’s League because “terrified” opponents refused to play against her.
A source close to the women’s football community said: “It is clear that the biological man who plays in the women’s team is a sex worker.
“This is a major safeguarding issue.
“It should be kept in mind that this biological male would be sharing changing rooms and single-sex spaces with young females.”
In another of her prostitution profiles, Needham said: “I can be your naughty schoolgirl…we can play out the cheerleader or schoolgirl scenario.”
Ms Needham is now taking legal action against the FA.
In a statement posted on the Facebook page of her club, Rossington Main Ladies, based just outside Doncaster, she says her team has “faced challenges from teams unwilling to play against us while I have been on field”.
She added: “This unfortunate circumstance has prompted me to investigate a discrimination case, as I believe it represents a breach of a code of conduct regarding diversity and inclusion, as well as the protection of adults in the football, established by the Football Association and the Sheffield and Hallamshire Women and Girls League.
The boycott of other teams in the league occurred when a player was injured in an on-field incident involving Needham.
The opponent reportedly suffered a broken knee while blocking a powerful strike from the Rossington player.
Needham has only played two league games this season, both in the last month, but has not lined out for the club since becoming mired in controversy.
A manager of an opposing team said it was clear after five minutes that Needham was transgender.
The manager said: “It was obvious. Unfortunately the FA allowed this to happen but didn’t tell anyone. She’s a pretty strong player. People have refused to play because they are worried about the players’ safety.
“My players were shying away from challenges because psychologically it’s quite an important thing, when you play against a biological male it’s quite scary. They were terrified.
Rossington senior president Gerald Parsons declined to comment on the controversy, saying only that their opponents “couldn’t put together a team” in recent weeks.
The manager of one of the teams who refused to play explained the boycott by saying: “I have 16 and 17 year old players playing for me and their parents weren’t too willing to put their welfare at risk. in danger.”
“It’s a wellness issue rather than a transgender issue.”
Lucy Marsh, of the Family Education Trust, told MailOnline: ‘It is a serious breach of safeguarding rules to allow a man who clearly has a sexual fetish of dressing up as a schoolgirl to have access to changing rooms and toilets alongside girls from the age of 16.
“This individual has a public profile as a sex worker and posts explicit images online. Many of the players in this women’s soccer league are under 18, meaning legally they are children.
Fiona McAnena of Fair Play For Women said: “Footballers are separated by gender for very good reasons.
“If you put a male on the field, he’s faster, he’s stronger. This is clearly unfair and in a contact sport like football, it is dangerous.
“These women didn’t choose mixed football, they chose women’s football. It’s not because this player is trans, it’s because he’s a man.
She said it “doesn’t matter” whether the player has fully transitioned or not, as Sports Council guidelines state “it is not possible to reverse the effects of male puberty”.
She added: “The law says you can segregate in sport on the basis of sex if it is necessary for fairness and safety and that is clearly the case.”
The FA has a new draft policy on transgender players which has not yet been published. Ms McAnena said the FA had consulted on the update and “they need to do something urgently because women and girls are being harmed in football”.
There are currently at least 50 transgender players registered in women’s leagues across England.
But Needham was supported by her club and her fans. After her departure, fans said it was “saddening” and promised to “support her” as she “paves the way” for other trans players.
The women’s team secretary said “in unity we overcome discrimination”, as fans gathered around the former prostitute.
Supporter Sarah Nicholson said: “It’s so sad it’s come to this! Wishing you all the best Fran xx.’
Simon Baker said: “A big decision Fran, but I believe your teammates, club officials and all supporters of Rossington Main Ladies FC, RMLFC, will be with you. Good luck in the future.
A third supporter, Julie Large, said: “I hope everything is sorted soon, it’s a very delicate situation, but I hope you lead the way so no one else has to go through what you have xxx.”
Rossington Main Ladies chairman Gerald Parsons told MailOnline: ‘I don’t know anything about it and don’t wish to comment.’
An FA spokesperson said: “We are working with the Sheffield & Hallamshire County FA to find a solution.
“This issue is complex and constantly evolving, and like many other national governing bodies in sport, we are currently reviewing our transgender policy for English football to ensure it is inclusive, fair and safe for all.”