1st Edition

Child Welfare in Football An Exploration of Children's Welfare in the Modern Game

    272 Pages 22 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    268 Pages 22 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Sport and those who run it have an important duty to ensure the safety and wellbeing of young participants. This text presents the findings of a unique research project into the experiences of a wide range of stakeholders in contemporary youth soccer, exploring crucial issues of child protection, social policy, and the culture and governance of sport. It covers:

    • The youth soccer context — twenty-first century family life, the sports policy background, and the organisation, governance and culture of the English game
    • Research findings — the experiences of children and young people, parents and carers, coaches, teachers, referees, Child Protection Officers, Football Development Officers, and those involved in women’s, disability and professional soccer
    • Issues in social policy research — methodological, ethical and management challenges
    • Conclusions and implications — the benefits and limitations of different approaches to the protection of children and young people in sport.

    For researchers, professionals and decision-makers, this text provides important new insight into the impact of child protection policies, and into the potential for evidence-based practice in youth sport.

    Introduction  Part 1: Context  1. Families and football in the twenty first century  2. Child protection and the sports policy agenda  3. Youth football  4. Researching the football family  Part 2: Findings  5. Children and young people  6. Parents and carers  7. Referees  8. The Professional Game  9. Coaches  10. School teachers  11. Disability football and vulnerable people  12. The women’s game  13. Scouts  Part 3: Reflections  14. Reflections on managing the research process  15. Conclusions: dream makers or dream breakers?  Appendices  1a. Sample survey 2002: parents/carers and guardians  1b. Sample survey 2003: coaches, managers and teachers  2. Sample interview/focus group schedule 2002  3. Consultation methods for children  4. Ethics protocol  5. Media protocol  6. Bracketing interview schedule 2002 

    Biography

    Celia Brackenridge, Andy Pitchford, Kate Russell, Gareth Nutt