Football and social inclusion: Evaluating social policy

Abstract

Sport, particularly football, is increasingly recognized as a means for promoting social inclusion. Yet rigorous evaluations of football-based social inclusion projects are rarely carried out. This paper explains the importance of evaluation and proposes the use of realist evaluation as a framework for developing theory, informing social policy and improving project design. It also aims to develop a workable template for small-scale project evaluation. The paper draws a series of conclusions on how rigorous evaluation of football-based social inclusion projects can benefit participants, practitioners and policy makers, as well as football clubs and the communities they serve.

Notes

1. The term ‘football club’ applies to clubs of all sizes: large, fully professional clubs with global fan bases as well as smaller, more localised clubs.

2. The final report of this research has now been published: Football and its Communities: Final Report (Brown et al., 2006).

3. Developments like these are not particular to English football clubs, and are common in professional sport in many countries. However, the rapid commercialization of football within England and the long-standing traditions of many English football clubs mean that this tension is perhaps felt more acutely than in other countries.