United States President Donald Trump has signed an executive order barring transgender women and girls from competing in female sports, a move that has sparked strong criticism from LGBTQ rights groups.

Under the order, signed on Wednesday, educational institutions that allow transgender athletes to participate in women’s sports or use female locker rooms will be denied federal funding.

“We’re just not going to let it happen, and it’s going to end, and it’s ending right now,” Trump said while signing the order.

"When I speak, we speak with authority, leaving no room for anyone to intervene."

The executive order also directs pressure toward the International Olympic Committee (IOC) ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, urging it to enforce sex-based participation rules. “We want them to change everything having to do with the Olympics and this absolutely ridiculous subject,” the president added.

Growing restrictions on trans athletes

The issue of transgender participation in sports has been a contentious topic in the US in recent years, despite the relatively small number of athletes affected. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) President Charlie Baker told a Senate panel in December that fewer than 10 transgender athletes were competing among the 520,000 college athletes nationwide.

However, public sentiment appears to be shifting. A 2023 Gallup poll showed that 69 percent of Americans believed transgender athletes should only compete on teams matching their assigned sex at birth, a seven-point rise from 2021.

The issue gained prominence following high-profile cases such as college swimmer Lia Thomas, who won the NCAA Division I national championship in 2022 before being barred from women’s events by World Aquatics.

The NCAA welcomed Trump’s order for providing a “clear, national standard” on the matter. “We strongly believe that clear, consistent, and uniform eligibility standards would best serve today’s student-athletes instead of a patchwork of conflicting state laws and court decisions,” Baker said in a statement.

Backlash from LGBTQ advocates

LGBTQ advocacy groups have strongly condemned the order, calling it discriminatory and harmful to transgender youth.

Athlete Ally, a group advocating for LGBTQ inclusion in sports, expressed disappointment, stating that transgender youth would “no longer be able to know the joy of playing sports as their full and authentic selves.”

“Despite this executive order, we will continue to work with sporting bodies to expand access to the life-saving power of sports whenever and wherever possible,” the group said.

GLAAD, one of the largest LGBTQ rights organisations in the US, also denounced the order as “inaccurate and incoherent.”

“All women and girls, including transgender women and girls, should be welcome to play sports if they want, make decisions about their own bodies, be hired for jobs they are qualified for, and be free from lawless attacks by extremists in elected office,” the group said in a statement.

Since taking office on January 20, Trump has signed four executive orders targeting transgender individuals, including a proclamation recognising only two sexes, a ban on transgender people serving openly in the military, and an order defunding gender transitions for individuals under 19.