‘It's not just about the football’: leading social change in a Sunday league football team

Abstract

The recent growth of ‘alternative’ football teams has presented politicized amateur footballers with the opportunity to play the game in a safe environment alongside like-minded people. However, for those desiring and pursuing authentic social change, a politicization process needs to be facilitated within mainstream community clubs. This paper will discuss one such club, where the coach has attempted to instil an inclusive culture which tackles sexist, racist and homophobic behaviour and attitudes. Based in the North East of England, in a club strongly committed to developing the qualities of its play, the paper outlines the process of challenging interactions played out within the club and among players. More specifically, it addresses the journey of developing awareness of these social issues. By deploying thoughtful action and more specific work related to sport and politics, the potential for transformational change within the club and the leadership process involved is discussed. Comparisons of these factors are made to an established ‘alternative’ football club.

Notes

^1.Carlin, “Global Game.”

^2.Giulianotti, Football.

^3.Wagg, The Football World.

^4.Walvin, The People's Game.

^5.Armstrong and Giulianotti, Football Cultures and Identities.

^6.Giulianotti, Football.

^7.King, The End of the Terraces.

^8.Millward, The Global Football League.

^9. Republica Internationale is a socialist football club that plays in amateur leagues in Leeds but is part of a broader network of ‘like-minded’ clubs mainly across Europe. For more information on this club see Caudwell, ‘Women Playing Football at Clubs, in England, with Socio-Political Associations’; and Tucker, ‘Forza Forza Republica’. As previous articles have been referred to regarding Republica, it seemed redundant to offer a pseudonym.

^10.Ledwith, Community Development.

^11.Carlisle, Is Football Racist?

^12.Fashanu, Britain's Gay Footballers.

^13.Logan, Sexism in Football.

^14.Jennings, FIFA's Dirty Secrets.

^15.Watson, Drury and Tucker, “Can We Make a Difference?”

^16.Caudwell, “Women's Football in the United Kingdom.”

^17.Cushion and Jones, “Power, Discourse, and Symbolic Violence in Professional Youth Soccer,” 142–61.

^18.Sugden, “Critical Left-Realism and Sport Interventions.”

^19.Schwarzmantel, Ideology and Politics.

^20.Fraser, “Social Justice in the Age of Identity Politics.”

^21.Watson and Scraton, “Leisure Studies and Intersectionality,” 1–13.

^22.Crenshaw, “Mapping the Margins,” 1241–99.

^23.Robson, Simpson and Tucker, Strategic Sport Development.

^24.Simpson, “Strategic Sport Development.”

^25.Coalter, “Game Plan and the Spirit Level.”

^26.Hargreaves, Sport, Power and Culture.

^27.Whannel, Culture, Politics and Sport.

^28.Kaufman and Wolff, “Playing and Protesting.”

^29. Ibid.

^30.Ledwith and Springett, Participatory Practice.

^31.Archer, “Realism and Morphogenesis.”

^32.Jarvie, “Sport, Social Change and the Public Intellectual.” The public intellectuals referred to by Jarvie who have the capacity and the platforms to act are students, teachers and sport researchers.

^33.Jarvie, “Sport, Social Change and the Public Intellectual,” 412.

^34.Ledwith, Community Development.

^35.Ledwith and Springett, Participatory Practice.

^36.Ledwith, Community Development.

^37.Kennedy and Kennedy, “Introduction,” 1–15.

^38.Theroux, “‘St. Pauli’”; Daniel and Kassimeris, “The Politics and Culture of FC St. Pauli”; and Jarvie and Thornton, Sport, Culture and Society.

^39.Kennedy and Kennedy, “Introduction,” 1–15; Sondaal, “Football's Grobalization or Globalization?”; Duke, “Local Tradition versus Globalisation”; and Nauright and Ramfjord, “Who Owns England's Game,” 428–41.

^40.Kuhn, Soccer vs. the State; Totten, “Freedom through Football,” 155–68; Tucker, Forza Forza Republica, 143–54.

^41.Totten, “Freedom through Football.”

^42.Lumby and Coleman, Leadership and Diversity.

^43.Hannah, Avolio and Walumbwa, “Relationships between Authentic Leadership, Moral Courage, and Ethical and Pro-Social Behaviors.”

^44.Bass and Steidlmeier, “Ethics, Character and Authentic Transformational Leadership.”

^45. See Riggio, Chaleff and Lipman-Blumen's edited collection ‘The Art of Followership’ which offers a comprehensive analysis of followership styles, processes and issues.

^46.Lumby and Coleman, Leadership and Diversity, 54.

^47.Wright Mills, The Sociological Imagination.

^48.Murray, “A Spy, a Shill, a Go-between, or a Sociologist.”

^49.Jorgensen, “Participation Observation.”

^50.Fortune and Mair, “Notes from the Sports Club.”

^51.Kouzes and Posner, The Leadership Challenge.

^52. BNP is an acronym for the British National Party, a UK political party with ‘right wing’ reputation and policies.

^53.Haslam, Reicher and Platow, The New Psychology of Leadership.

^54. This is a concept used by former England men's football team manager Sven-Göran Eriksson's confidant Willi Railo. It describes how certain individuals are able to change the mindset of others.

^55.Haslam, Reicher and Platow, The New Psychology of Leadership, 60.

^56.Watson, Drury and Tucker, Can We Make a Difference?

^57.Sue, Microaggressions in Everyday Life.

^58. Banter is a term used to denote a mostly humorous exchange between individuals that is meant to be taken in a spirit of fun rather than any serious intent.

^59.Bourdieu, The Forms of Capital.

^60. Many of the members are tradesmen or casual workers without having attended university (although there are a couple who have done this and a couple more intending to do so). There are also class signifiers such as accent, schooling, leisure interests (mainly football), engagement in popular culture and disposable income, etc., that distinguishes its working class base.

^61.Amabile and Kramer, The Progress Principle.

^62.Rost, “Followership: An Outmoded Concept,” states in The Art of Followership that ‘Collaborative leadership is an influence relationship among leaders and collaborators who intend significant changes that reflect their mutual interests’.

^63.Webb, Schirato and Danaher in their book Understanding Bourdieu discuss the constitutive and constituting processes evident within cultural fields. A place where people interact (such as a football club) will have a culture that demarcates appropriate behaviour and taste, but this culture is created by the individuals who make up the membership. Hence, a chicken-and-egg situation arises impacting upon the perceived culture of the club as well as expected attitudes and behaviours for those involved.

^64.Ledwith, Community Development.

^65.Jarvie, “Sport, Social Change and the Public Intellectual.”