ABSTRACT
The sports club is repeatedly referred to as ‘the grassroots’, ‘the bedrock’ or ‘the foundation’ of British sport. The British tradition has been of small, single-sport clubs, mostly geographically parochial, which are socially strong but financially and numerically weak. The total numbers for England are estimated at around 105,000 for those affiliated to NGBs, but with perhaps another 50,000 that play regularly but less formally. The small size is affected by the fact that almost 40% of the total is found in association football, many of them single-team clubs. Clubs that own their own grounds are often larger – running three or four teams in sports like rugby and hockey – and with a strong social life backed by a clubhouse with a bar and, increasingly, fitness facilities, whereas players in clubs renting public or non-profit facilities would either resort to a local pub or sports centre bar, or disperse to home or work at the end of a match.
