Emerging third-sector sports organisations and navigating uncertainty in an ‘era of austerity’: a single ethnographic case study from Liverpool

ABSTRACT

There have been a number of recent policies in the UK which have attempted to capitalise on the benefits that sport potentially offers for health and well-being. These are, however, set against a somewhat incongruous backdrop of reductions in opportunities to participate, resulting from the ongoing constraints on public spending associated with austerity. In response to these constraints, an increasing number of third-sector sports organisations (TSSOs) have emerged to fill some of the gaps left by the public services that local authorities are no longer able deliver. This research draws on the experiences of one of those TSSOs, Target Football, a Community Interest Company located in Princes Park, Liverpool, one of the most deprived neighbourhoods in the UK. Drawing upon 6 years of ethnographic research, and a posteriori semi-structured interviews, this paper examines the ways in which this TSSO has navigated – and continues to navigate – the contextual uncertainty arising from austerity, to sustain sports provision in an environment where opportunities have declined in recent years. Underpinned by stakeholder theory, this research examines the relationships that exist between organisations and their stakeholders, and frames these in relation to power, legitimacy and urgency. The findings provide insight into the significant obstacles that challenge the survival of TSSOs in the context of a scarcity of resources. From a more practical perspective, these findings also provide critical insight into David Cameron’s aspiration ‘to do more with less’.

KEYWORDS:

• Austerity
• community sport
• stakeholder theory
• third-sector sport organisations

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Paul Hurford and Reg Standish, the founders and directors of Target Football CIC, for allowing us access to project and for sharing their experiences.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. ‘A community interest company (CIC) is a type of company, designed in particular for social enterprises that want to use their profits and assets for the public good. […] They pursue social objectives, such as environmental improvement, community development and inclusion, fair trade, support services etc. […] [They] can be established for any lawful purpose, as long as their activities are carried on for the benefit of the community’ (Office of the Regulator of Community Interest Companies 2016, pp. 6–7).

2. When the UK joined the European Economic Community in 1973, the city’s geographic location proved less convenient for trade with Europe than it had been for trade in the Atlantic.

3. Alongside Stavanger in Norway.

4. LSOAs are geographic areas used by the Office for National Statistics ‘for the collection and publication of small area statistics’ – they typically contain an average of around 1500 residents and 650 households (Office for National Statistics n.d.).

5. For more information, please refer to: <https://www.nacro.org.uk/>.

6. For more information, please refer to: <http://www.mya.org.uk/>.

7. To allay ethical concerns, no data was collected from any individual under the age of 18.

8. For more information, please refer to: <http://www.help4teens.co.uk/advice/National-Careers-Service.html>.

9. For more information, please refer to: <https://www.addaction.org.uk/>.

10. For more information, please refer to: <http://www.active8supportservices.co.uk/>.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

James Andrew Kenyon

Dr. Jamie Kenyon is a Lecturer in Sport Management at Loughborough University. His research interests include: managing community and volunteer sports organisations; relationship management in sport; and, the impacts and legacies of sports mega-events. To supplement his academic activities, Jamie has an extended portfolio of sports coaching experience and has engaged in research and consultancy projects for various local and national organisations.

Carolynne Mason

Dr. Carolynne Mason is a Lecturer in Sport Management at Loughborough University and an experienced researcher with over fifteen years’ experience of managing and delivering more than forty research projects. Her research interests include: young people’s participation and citizenship, inclusive educational practice; engaging ‘hard to reach groups’ in and through sport and physical activity; promotion of well-being in children and young people; the role of sport and physical activity in promoting social inclusion and social justice: and, visual methodologies, particularly photo-voice.

Joel Rookwood

Dr. Joel Rookwood is a Senior Lecturer in Sport Business Management at the University of Central Lancashire. He has research interests in football fandom, management, mega-events, peace building, social development and violence – areas in which he has published widely. Joel has worked for professional clubs and governing bodies as a coach and match analyst, and has contributed to thirty sport-for-development projects across six continents during the last fifteen years.