Brighton and Hove Pride have joined other Pride organisers to call for a boycott of this year’s World Cup in Qatar.

Organisers from the city’s annual Pride festivities, along with Manchester Pride, Birmingham Pride and Pride in London, criticised Fifa for a “complete lack of consideration for LGBTQ+ people” as teams prepare to take part in the first World Cup to be hosted in the Middle East.

Qatar has attracted scrutiny and condemnation in recent months over its anti-LGBTQ+ legislation - which punishes homosexuality with up to seven years in prison and death for Muslims.

In a joint statement, the Pride organisers called upon people to boycott the World Cup “in order to support the LGBTQ+ community globally”.

They said: “By choosing to host the World Cup in Qatar, Fifa has demonstrated a complete lack of consideration for LGBTQ+ people.

“The message Fifa is sending to the world appears to be that they don’t think LGBTQ+ people are, or should be, involved in sport - whether that’s as an athlete or a fan.

“Furthermore, it seems that they don’t think protecting LGBTQ+ people is something they need to be involved with.

“Even once these issues were brought to light, FIFA has disregarded queer people's needs or didn’t deem them important, and proceeded with Qatar as the host nation.

“As such a huge organisation with massive power and influence, Fifa is in an incredible position to progress LGBTQ+ rights in football and sport, but have completely disregarded LGBTQ+ people - presumably in favour of profits.”

The group of organisers are calling for bars and venues not to screen World Cup matches, refuse to watch any of the fixtures, and write to Fifa and the tournament’s sponsors to show support for LGBTQ+ people living in Qatar.

The calls come after the foreign secretary James Cleverly said during a recent Sky News interview that LGBTQ+ fans attending World Cup matches in Qatar should avoid public displays of affection.

“I think it’s important, when you’re a visitor to a country, that you respect the culture of your host nation,” he said.

Qatar has also faced criticism over the deaths of migrant workers during the construction of stadiums for the tournament.