ABSTRACT
Football in the Community: ‘What’s the Score?’
Neil Watson
‘Football in the Community’ schemes have been a feature of the vast majority of professional football clubs since the early 1990s. Originally suggested as an interventionist measure for football hooliganism as far back as 1975, their recent growth and development have been extraordinary. It is now the case that community schemes are more mature and sophisticated, are developing sport from grass roots to excellence and tackling serious social issues in partnership with the private and public sectors. This research investigates Football in the Community schemes in this new era, at football clubs which can generally be classified as either big or small. It focuses particularly on their aims and priority areas of work, their relationship with the football club and their sources of funding. It will also examine the changing role of the Footballers’ Further Education and Vocational Training Society, the umbrella organization responsible for their development.
