US PRESIDENT Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday intending to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports.

The order, titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” gives federal agencies wide latitude to ensure entities that receive federal funding abide by Title IX (prohibiting discrimination against women and girls in federal-funded programmes) in alignment with the Trump administration’s view that gender identification does not affect biological sex.

“With this executive order, the war on women’s sports is over,” Trump said at a signing ceremony in the East Room that included politicians and female athletes who have come out in support of a ban.