ABSTRACT
Research into ‘race’ and football in England has largely focused on the elite echelons of the sport. It has sought to identify and explain the incidence of overt and more institutionalised racisms, and their impact on shaping the parameters of inclusion of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities across all sectors of the professional game. In contrast, issues of ‘race’ and amateur football have been largely under-researched and remain a relatively marginalised area of academic enquiry. This chapter shifts academic attention towards the amateur tiers of the game by offering an analysis of the socio-historical development of BAME clubs in the city of Leicester in the East Midlands of England.
