Jake Daniels said his decision to come out as the UK's only openly gay active male professional footballer was a huge relief.
Daniels is the first professional footballer in the UK to come out while still playing.
The 17-year-old said that it was the right time to do it.
I feel like I'm ready to tell people my story.
Since I came out to my family, my club and my team-mates, that period of over thinking has gone. My mental health was being impacted by it. I am happy to be myself again.
I have been thinking about how I want to do it for a long time. I know it's time. I am ready to be myself, be free and be confident.
Josh Cavallo is the only openly gay male professional footballer in the world.
Daniels says his announcement comes at the end of what he says has been a fantastic season for him, during which he made his first-team debut and signed a first professional contract.
"But off the pitch I've been hiding the real me and who I really am," he told Blackpool's website. "I've known my whole life that I'm gay, and I now feel that I'm ready to come out and be myself.
Being one of the first footballers in this country to reveal my sexuality is a step into the unknown, but I have been inspired by athletes like Josh Cavallo and Matt Morton who have done the same.
The youth-team players have supported and embraced Daniels' decision.
He wants to be a role model for himself by doing this.
There are people like me who may not feel comfortable revealing their sexuality. I want them to know that they don&t have to change who they are or how they are to fit in.
More to come.
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