Essendon captain Brendon Goddard believes it is only a matter of time before an AFL player feels comfortable enough to come out and publicly declare himself gay.

Speaking at an event to mark the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia on Tuesday night, Goddard said he felt the game was ready to embrace its first openly gay footballer – as long as that player was sufficiently resilient and able to withstand the pressures that came with such a ground-breaking move.

"Not to be disrespectful, but you probably want the right guy to do it because he’s going to have challenges along the way – particularly being the first player that does it," the 30-year-old skipper said. 

"They’re going to have to be quite brave and ready to face those challenges, because if they were to come out they still obviously want to play footy and live a normal life. 

"I’ve got no doubt there will be support behind him. Hopefully that would create a domino effect where other players can see there actually is light, it can happen and you will be supported regardless.

"There’s no doubt it’ll happen at some stage, and I think they’ll be embraced."

It has been more than 20 years since NRL star Ian Roberts became the first professional sportsman in Australia to publicly acknowledge he was gay.

And despite the statically improbability that every AFL-listed player is heterosexual, the code is yet to have somebody follow in the New South Wales and Australian representative’s pioneering footsteps.

Goddard’s teammate Joe Daniher said the AFL had "come on in leaps and bounds" in terms of inclusiveness, and was "starting to make really good inroads in areas of diversity".

And the full forward, who attended the evening with current Essendon players Mathew Stokes, James Gwilt, Shaun Edwards and James Polkinghorne, said he hoped it was sooner rather than later that someone finally broke down the barrier.

"We need someone to feel that it’s the right time, and when it does happen – hopefully sooner rather than later – that it is an appropriate time where it’s just accepted," Daniher said on Tuesday night.

"How long that takes, I don’t have the answer, but we’ve got to keep heading in the right direction."

More than 200 people attended the function hosted by Essendon coterie group, the Purple Bombers, which in March became the AFL's first officially recognised supporter group to represent the LGBTI community.

Essendon Chief Executive Officer Xavier Campbell addressed the gathering, as did Goddard and former Hawthorn and St Kilda 304-gamer, Russell Greene.

Campbell told the room that inclusivity was his "No. 1 priority" at Tullamarine, while Greene urged people to refrain from inadvertently using homophobic slurs at the football – something he admitted he’d been guilty of in the past.

Greene’s youngest son, Brent, is gay, and his daughter Angie is the founder of Stand Up Events, set up to combat inequality in Australian sport and society.