Children’s voices in mini soccer: an exploration of critical incidents

Since being adopted by The English Football Association as the preferred format of football to be played by children aged 10 and under, mini soccer has evolved and expanded into a popular activity for children. Yet little is known about the experiences of those participating in the game. In addition, adult-organized activities such as mini soccer are increasingly seen by parents and adults as suitable pursuits for their children to participate in. Yet the perspective of the child participating in mini soccer, as with many other activities, is largely ignored in academic literature. This is especially true in the social sciences, where research has historically been done ‘on’ children, rather than ‘with’ children. In this study, we seek to address this imbalance by including children as active participants in the research process. In doing so, we devised a methodology based on audiovisual methods to create participatory conditions between children and researchers interested in investigating their experiences of mini soccer in England. Children were asked to identify aspects of their experience which they felt were noteworthy to create video recordings of critical incidents that directly involved them participating in mini soccer. These were used as a discussion tool in focus groups to explore how and why children felt the incidents were critical, and how their experience of them shaped their participation. The methodology employed helped capture children’s differentiated views of the same incidents, and highlighted the diversity of their experiences. It is recommended that similar audiovisual methodologies are employed to inform future policy and strategy development in grassroots football that includes children as participants.     

中国足球制度的逻辑与悖论——以足球市场化阶段为视角

运用文献资料和逻辑分析法,以足球市场化阶段为分析视角,对我国足球制度的逻辑与悖论进行理性的论证。分析认为:我国市场化阶段的足球制度逻辑应是政府管理+公共财政+市场机制+私人财政。但现实中我国足球制度逻辑存在制度悖论,形成原因主要是政府权力控制和体制转型所致。政府管制、市场机制为辅的制度安排使我国足球管理者既没实现足球运动的开展、普及和提高的历史责任;又没严格地监管控制足球联赛产品市场的生产和交换。要消解足球制度悖论,一要改革足协与足管中心"两权合一"为"两权分离";二要建立由法律控制和依法律善治的足球政府;三要建立控权与分权的责任型政府。     

Projecting the visual: British newsreels,soccer and popular culture 1918–39

Between the wars soccer was the leading national sport in Britain. But far more watched the brief depictions of ‘celluloid’ soccer on the newsreels in the cinema than ever watched football on the pitch. Newsreels were a central cultural feature, yet their broader social, historical and ideological significance has been overlooked by both sports and media historians. This study draws on an extensive body of surviving newsreel material. It begins by exploring the complex nature of the inter-war cinema audiences, their responses to sporting newsreels and the cultural competencies they brought to their watching. Examination of newsreel content reveals the changing nature and highly varied coverage of professional and amateur soccer over the period, including significant attention devoted to women's soccer even after its banning from English Football Association grounds in 1921. The day to day practices of newsreel soccer coverage provide fascinating insights into the British sporting values and identities, contained, encouraged or prevented by its representations, codes and conventions. Soccer newsreels produced by the leading companies, while largely conservative in tone, were also highly ideologically charged. Through the ways in which they addressed notions of class, gender, politics, region and identity they had a major cultural impact on broader British society.     

Female football players in England: examining the emergence of third-space narratives

This paper will examine the ways in which female football players negotiate and contest gender conventions practised in English football. I look at female participation through the application of Bhabha’s ‘third-space’ thesis, and argue that Bhabha’s work has utility in the context of this case study for understanding complexities and nuances ordinarily ignored by gendered discourse performed in English football culture. I utilize semi-structured interviewees with women who have or are still currently playing football across an age range of 17–45. I draw on a feminist ‘standpoint’ in order to attain critical narratives. Critiques arise in two key areas. Firstly, the impact of changes in governance under the Football Association. Secondly, the agency of players themselves to actively contest gender conventions, whether through playing football despite the negative connotations attached to female physicality, or through the provision of mixed football.     

Manchester and the Emergence of an Association Football Culture, 1840–1880: An Alternative Viewpoint

This paper provides a critique of the article by Gary James and Dave Day on ‘The Emergence of an Association Football Culture in Manchester, 1840–1884', published in Sport in History. We suggest an alternative interpretation of Manchester's football history during this period, arguing that Association football was a minor form of football in a city largely dominated by the rugby code. Furthermore, by employing an artificial construct of Manchester the authors have produced the wrong answer to the wrong question. Rather than trying to prove that Manchester developed an important Association football culture, we suggest they ought to have addressed the question of why such a culture did not exist. The contribution to the development of Association football of three isolated ‘transitory’ clubs in a city as large as Manchester is certainly not ‘substantial’. Subsequently, James and Day also fail to exploit fully their evidence for early football in the Manchester area by omitting to relate this properly to the much wider ongoing debate surrounding the origins of football. Conversely, there is ample evidence that ‘substantial’ Association football developments actually occurred in East Lancashire, centred on Bolton, Blackburn and Darwen, developments that are scarcely noted in James and Day's account.     

Caught between passion for the game and the need for education: a study of elite-level female football players in Denmark

This article focuses on the passion of Danish elite-level female football players for the game and the challenges they face. How do they manage to combine the tough demands of a football life with the need for education? A quantitative survey (2010) was sent out to female players in the Danish 3F Ligaen and Danish national team players. The findings indicate challenges faced by players in pursuing their passion, as they struggle to combine everyday life, education and work with a football career, either as amateurs or on a playing contract. In the light of the Scandinavian sport model inspired by Victor Pestoff, we may be operating with a different form of elite in women’s football in Denmark. Future focal points for clubs and the Danish Football Association are to continue supporting the players’ passion for the game and Team Denmark’s focus on ‘the whole human being’ in athletes.     

世界主要足球强国后备人才培养模式及启示

无论是培训中心模式,还是学校模式,世界主要足球强国青少年足球运动员的培养模式都是以培养途径的多元化、培养方法的系统化为主要特征.当前,我国校园足球活动的开展开创了中国青少年足球后备人才培养的新模式,将体教结合推到了一个新的高度.应尽快建立以足球协会为主导,教育部门为依托,企业为后盾,学校足球、足球学校和各种培训中心为基础,中、小学生为对象的多元培养的后备人才培养体系.     

The Development of Gaelic football and Soccer Zones in County Donegal, 1884–1934

This article examines the geography of Gaelic and Association football zones in Donegal between 1884 and 1934. It will illustrate where these sports were initially played and will show how, by the early twentieth century, soccer was the number one team game in the county. With the decline of competitive soccer in Donegal after 1915, a vacuum existed for the organisation of competitive structures for Gaelic football and the Donegal Gaelic Athletic Association county board was refounded in 1919, having run initially from 1905–1907. County championships were soon organised and these provided a competitive form of football on a regular basis as players could adapt to each code fairly easily. However, many local sports organisers in the north-east of the county were eager to continue with soccer and it was through the organisation of local leagues and cup competitions that they managed to do this. A deep tradition of soccer and strong connections with Derry city and Scotland also meant that association football received priority there. In contrast, by 1934, Gaelic football had become firmly entrenched in the south and south-west. The importance of local organisers within the county and the failure of both the Irish Football Association and the Football Association of the Irish Free State to develop soccer in this peripheral area will also be outlined.     

Early Football and the Emergence of Modern Soccer: A Reply to Tony Collins

This paper seeks to defend one part of what has become known as the ‘revisionist’ account of the historiography of football in nineteenth-century England. In so doing, it responds to the critique by Tony Collins in his article ‘Early Football and the Emergence of Modern Soccer’ between 1840 and 1880, calling into question the reliance in his arguments of what he describes as ‘legal organized games’ as the only measure of a football culture outside of the public schools. His classification of small-sided games of football as an ‘informal leisure practice or folk custom’ is also interrogated and found wanting. Alternatively, further evidence is presented from 1860 of football games played in a variety of forms, usually alongside other sports, and mainly on church, works’ or schools’ outings, at rural fetes, galas and celebrations, or as street or casual football, the latter taking place in meadows, fields, and greens. Importantly, these were predominantly small-sided games and are, arguably, the ones closest to Association football, as it was codified in 1863, and constituted a broad, tenacious, and increasingly visible football culture that existed amongst the general population across mid-century uninfluenced by the public schools and public school boys.     

From old soccer to new football? Expert accounts of transformations on the world game in Australia post-Crawford Report

This article investigated and evaluated the changes which have occurred in Australian football since the publication of the Crawford Report in 2003. Prior to this report, it was widely perceived that football was the ‘sleeping giant’ of Australian professional sport despite its popularity at youth participant level. The Crawford Report made a range of recommendations and a new era was heralded when Football Federation Australia was established which set upon the task of adopting a number of Crawford’s recommendations. To investigate the impact of the Crawford Report on the current status of Australian football, a qualitative methodology was adopted. Purposive sampling was adopted to give voice to senior football figures who were involved in the sport in both the pre- and post-Crawford Report periods and a total of 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted. A number of significant themes emerged from the research. All participants agreed that Australian football’s appeal has been broadened. However, the interviews also reported that the perception of football as a minor code and always relegated to the ethnic margins was a ‘myth’. Also, the participants raised the issue of whether the Crawford Report was implemented to its fullest degree. They were passionate about the idea that if all recommendations were implemented, the sport might currently be in a much stronger position.     

Grassroots Football Development in Japan

Abstract

The history and issues surrounding elite football in Japan have been addressed by a number of scholars. However, grassroots football, although fundamental to the development of the code, has rarely been explored in the academic literature. In Japan, the importance of grassroots football has received heightened attention by the Japanese Football Association (JFA) since 2003, with 20% growth in the number of registered players under 12 years old from 2003 (262,956 players) to 2014 (315,178 players) a result of the JFA’s initiatives in this area. Japan is currently one of the most successful countries in Asia in terms of grassroots football development and the JFA won the Asian Football Confederation’s award, namely ‘The Best Member Association of the Year 2013 for Grassroots Football’. This paper explores the key driver behind the development of grassroots football development, namely the 47 Prefectural Football Associations, which provide programmes and technical, physical and promotional services which include activities to increase opportunities, facilities, coach education, elite pathways, and competitions for grassroots football. The paper concludes that the factors which have resulted in the success of Japan’s grassroots football revolve around governance of Prefectural Football Associations, coach education programmes, increased opportunities by clubs, leagues and schools, and collaboration with stakeholders within and outside of Prefectural Football Associations.     

从原始荷尔蒙主义到现代法学体系：足球的世俗理性

足球在1863年之后全面崛起,成为全世界知名度最高的竞技项目,与其内在的品质分不开。现代足球保留了血性化的成色,却强化了其外在的法学价值,两者的合力构成了一种优质的游戏品格,成为值得全人类纪念的一种超体育的文化形态。从生物学、游戏学和人类学的角度看,追逐球类或在球类的翻滚状态中嬉戏是人和诸多动物的共通的本能。足球在传播的过程中营造出数不胜数的传奇、传说和故事,足球史学家们将其归结为一种集束性的理论。足球的多源说体现出各民族的人民对足球的爱好的相似性,英式足球对世界的扩张则展示出规则足球、法系足球、人性足球的无穷张力。     

Football Museums: History,Identity, and Connection

Abstract

With an increasing number of museums of popular culture, the portrayal of the ‘pop’ and everyday life experiences has linked museums more closely with projections of identities. Engaging with one of world’s most popular sports, football museums enhance the possibilities of reaching a wider public and of providing forums for issues of history and identity. Based on research conducted at the National Football Museum in Manchester and the Linzi Football Museum in Zibo, a cross-cultural study of how football museums represent the history of football, construct identities, and promote communications between different football cultures is provided. By examining the exhibiting practices, activity programmes, cultural settings of the two football museums, as well as connections between them, this article joins continuing efforts to understand the interpretations of football culture, with objectives of introducing the usually ignored Linzi Football Museum to the football world and communicating the development of football museums to a wider audience.     

The Social Background of Ireland’s Pre-World War I Association Football Clubs,Players and Administrators: The Case of South and West Ulster

This paper examines the development of association football in the South and West Ulster counties of Fermanagh, Tyrone, Cavan, and Monaghan in the pre-World War One era against the backdrop of the sporting ‘revolution’ and the political and social climate in Ireland at that time. While the Irish Football Association was founded in Belfast in 1880 and the game’s early growth in Ireland was centred in East Ulster, South and West Ulster were areas which were rather dislocated from the hearth of soccer in the province’s largest city, where professional structures were in place by 1894 and where senior and junior association football clubs were strongest. The origins of a number of clubs are examined and it will be shown that despite a lack of major industry and a professional structure, by the early 1900s, the game of soccer had established a strong role within society in many local communities in the area. An examination of the social backgrounds of players and administrators illustrates that leagues and cups were played on a cross-community basis in many areas and that patronage, as well as player participation and administration, came from nationalists as well as unionists.     

‘Safeguarding’ sports coaching: Foucault,genealogy and critique

This paper offers a genealogical account of safeguarding in sport. Drawing specifically on Foucault's work, it examines the ‘politics of touch’ in relation to the social and historical formation of child protection policy in sports coaching. While the analysis has some resonance with the context of coaching as a whole, for illustrative purposes it focuses principally upon the sport of swimming. Our analysis demonstrates how the linked signifiers of ‘abuse’, ‘protection’ and ‘safeguarding’ produce both continuity and change in the philosophy and meaning around coaching practice, giving rise to particular notions of ‘government’ and regulation, risk aversion and prohibitions, and values. Within a culture of fear in sports coaching and society, the analysis traces the development of swimming policy following the exposure of select high-profile cases or critical incidents, where such historical events prompted a series of authoritative statements about the nature of child protection discourse in sport and education, and practice.     

The Usual Suspect: A History of Football Violence in the State of Israel

Rather than hooliganism per se, violence here is examined both in its totality and the extent to which the history of football violence in Israel has been subject to a fluctuating social, political and economic context. Initially, footballers were ‘the usual suspect’ as violence was often incited by the players on the pitch. For political reasons, the Israel Football Association (IFA) was practically helpless. Over time, violent incidents on the pitch decreased as a change in the pattern of violence took place. Due to an increasing commodification of Israeli football, players and spectators switched places. The crowd was now ‘the usual suspect’ and later, due to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, ethnicity-nationality became the major trigger for violent actions in Israeli football.     

When Will China Win the World Cup? A Study of China’s Youth Football Development

Abstract

What is embarrassing for Chinese sports is that the supply of the sports cannot meet the needs of people with the rapid development in almost every field of sport in China. Furthermore, teenage sport has deteriorated year on year and is very short of backup talents in competitive sports. Faced with China’s devastated football, the appropriate attitude is neither seeking quick success and instant benefits nor ignoring it; the urgent thing for this moment is to establish a feasible and sustainable football system. An analysis of the history of Chinese football, the strategy of football development by the country’s leaders, and the policy of Youth Campus Football in 2009, coupled with sports humanism, suggests that the future lies in instilling a sharing sports concept, promoting the joint efforts of school, society, and family.     

A Brief Legal History of Prize Fighting in Nineteenth Century America

This article examines the value for historians of sport of works of fiction in which sport is a central motif. The novel that is explored in this context is Eva Menasse's Vienna which offers a unique representation of Austrian soccer throughout a significant part of the twentieth century and thereby provides a vivid account of the more general relationship between soccer, society and identity. It is argued that the novel also allows us to reflect on the ways in which professional athletes view their world. Does Vienna add to the uninitiated's knowledge about the ‘facts’ of Austrian football in the period depicted? Perhaps not. Does it increase our understanding of the place of football in Austrian society at that time and, indeed, in the lives of individuals in many societies even during times of crisis? Here the answer is almost certainly an unequivocal ‘yes’.     

Opportunities for all the Team: Entrepreneurship and the 1966 and 1994 Soccer World Cups

Abstract

Little research has been published as to the ways in which the commercial aspects of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association’s (FIFA) World Cups are organized. Extant literature has instead tended to focus upon infrastructure issues, economic geography, and cultural aspects. Drawing upon ‘swarm theory’ and historian Wray Vamplew’s typologies of entrepreneurial activity in sport, we compare and contrast the commercial aspects of two World Cups; first, the 1966 tournament held in England, the first time that a serious attempt had been made to produce and licence a mascot character (‘World Cup Willie’) to exploit merchandizing opportunities. This approach became an important part of World Cups thereafter; Second, the 1994 tournament in the USA, the most commercially successful World Cup ever, realizing record profits and catalyzing the re-launch of elite professional soccer in the USA. These cases enrich understanding of the networks and entrepreneurial activity of the World Cup, one of the most significant sporting and cultural mega-event projects in the world.     

Is Sport (Football) a Unifying Force or a Vehicle to Further Separation? The Case of Cyprus

In recent years studies have shown that sport can serve as a means towards conflict resolution. Since the time of British colonialism in the 1950s, and after its 1960 independence, Cyprus has experienced conflict between its two main communities – the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots. The de facto division of the island in 1974 caused community isolation of the Turkish Cypriots who, for political reasons, have been excluded from participating in international sports competitions. This situation is more visible in football (soccer), the most popular sport on the island. In the last two years the two sides have been trying – so far unsuccessfully – to reinstate the Turkish Cypriots as members of the Official Cyprus Football Federation. This paper gives a background on what has preceded these attempts and discusses whether football is a means of reuniting the two communities, or whether it is used as a vehicle to further separation.