Pick the best, forget the rest? Training field dilemmas and children’s football at the turn of the century

Association Football-the ‘people’s game’ (Walvin 1975)—which was first organised and codified in England in 1863 with the formation of the Football Association (FA)— was played originally by the amateur gentlemen of the public schools and universities. It rapidly spread among the working classes, its format ideally suited to the new industrial cities. Professional players soon emerged and appropriated the game from the amateur gentlemen. As clubs themselves grew increasingly professional, there developed specialised methods of training and a network of surveillance charged with the task of identifying potential physical capital in the shape of young new players. The football coach and the club scout were born.