ABSTRACT
Football really is the family game. Our national sport offers every member of the family an opportunity to get involved through playing, spectating, coaching or just helping out the thousands of clubs that operate from grass roots to the professional levels. Pre-school versions of the game now help to encourage the under-fours to get kicking;1 boys and girls as young as five can enjoy mini-soccer, while parents and grandparents can access courses to help them learn the fundamentals of football coaching.2 Even those parents or carers with a more casual, ‘taxi-service’, kit-washing connection with the sport can benefit from the Football Association’s own education resource, Soccer Parent.3
