tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/football-association-fa-10419/articlesFootball Association (FA) – The Conversation2021-11-29T18:41:30Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1679432021-11-29T18:41:30Z2021-11-29T18:41:30ZWomen in sport are winning the fight for equal pay – slowly<p>The Welsh national football association has <a href="https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/wales-women-promised-equal-pay-22247200">pledged to introduce equal pay</a> for their men’s and women’s teams by 2026. The news comes following a <a href="https://twitter.com/Golwg360/status/1463072278158233601?s=20">documentary featuring</a> the most capped Welsh player Jess Fishlock, who called the lack of pay parity “unacceptable”.</p>
<p>It also follows the Irish football association’s introduction of pay parity for its national teams. Through a combination of the men’s squad agreeing to reduce their international fees, and the association matching their contribution, all players will now receive €2,000 per match. Wales and Ireland join <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/sep/03/england-womens-and-mens-teams-receive-same-pay-fa-reveals">England</a>, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanaglass/2020/09/02/brazil-announces-equal-pay-for-womens-and-mens-national-teams/?sh=1e0505db9084">Brazil</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/06/sports/soccer/australia-soccer-matildas-equal-pay.html">Australia</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2017/oct/17/norway-historic-pay-deal-for-womens-team-shows-it-can-be-done">Norway</a> and <a href="https://www.nzfootball.co.nz/newsarticle/62265">New Zealand</a> as national football associations who have equal pay agreements with men’s and women’s teams.</p>
<p>These recent cases are indicative of real change in how some national governing bodies view women’s sport, long considered “less than” the men’s versions and chronically underfunded. And, as these bodies are social institutions – their decisions and financial support influence how society views sport – this is good news for women’s sport more broadly. However, for many players and athletes, progress is slow and challenges remain.</p>
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<p>For years, a lack of pay has left many women navigating a complex balancing act of elite level sport and work or study. Many continue to do so. Sportswomen, despite making professional commitments and complying to professional expectations, are often <a href="https://books.emeraldinsight.com/page/detail/The-Professionalisation-of-Women%C3%AF%C2%BF%C2%BDs-SportThe-Professionalisation-of-Women%E2%80%99s-Sport/?k=9781800431973">treated as amateurs</a>. </p>
<p>However, many women athletes have been reluctant to question inadequate workplace conditions as there is often a “<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1755458620300207?casa_token=V898JFc_t8gAAAAA:ODXYWQE4KG2E4gwDOczjQ9Q8NE9C6jz7WneFpBmUGvpSepKxvU0IlzZou9J40DFaxLNWpK5aWL-2">be grateful</a>” narrative enveloping women in professional sport environments. Yet, to acquire professional status offers legitimacy to women athletes. </p>
<h2>Pay across the pond</h2>
<p>Perhaps the highest-profile challenge for equal pay in football comes from the US women’s national team, who has had long, unrivalled success on the international stage. Yet for the past five years, their highly publicised legal battle – and the “equal play, equal pay” campaign – has drawn attention to the lack of pay parity in the sport.</p>
<p>Although the dispute started in 2016, in 2019, the team took the US Soccer Federation to court in pursuit of better pay and working conditions. At the time, <a href="https://www.starsandstripesfc.com/2020/2/21/21146966/legal-explainer-uswnt-lawsuit-ussf-66-million-backpay">an economic expert</a> noted the women’s team could be owed US$66 million (£48.2 million). </p>
<p>US Soccer has fought against the case on multiple grounds, <a href="https://www.starsandstripesfc.com/2020/2/21/21146966/legal-explainer-uswnt-lawsuit-ussf-66-million-backpay">made more complex</a> by the fact that both parties are using different sets of statistics to attempt to prove or disprove the team’s financial success. Both parties also disagree about the performance comparisons with the men’s team, with US Soccer controversially arguing -– although later backtracking -– that in football, men do <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2880282-ussf-says-mens-womens-teams-dont-perform-equal-work-in-wages-lawsuit">different work to women</a>.</p>
<p>The US team’s initial complaints were dismissed, as they were unable to prove a breach of the Equal Pay Act. In <a href="http://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/jlas/article/view/25604/23831">our recent research</a>, we analysed the implications of the US women’s team’s collective action lawsuit against US Soccer, highlighting the need for formal, legal reform, such as Iceland’s <a href="https://mckinneylaw.iu.edu/iiclr/pdf/vol30p319.pdf">Equal Pay Certification</a>. The new legislation contains amendments to the 2008 “Gender Equality Act” which <a href="https://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/jlas/article/view/25604">aims to reduce</a> gender-based pay discrimination.</p>
<p>Professional women footballers operate in a more precarious workplace, with poorer conditions, lower pay, shorter contracts and a <a href="https://theconversation.com/there-are-plenty-of-female-superstars-in-football-but-very-few-women-coaches-heres-why-126139">smaller number of professional opportunities</a> than men. As explained <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14660970.2021.1977280">in our analysis</a> of the USWNT dispute, this is a byproduct of decades of gendered discrimination. </p>
<p>US Soccer has since offered the same <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/us-soccer-offers-identical-contracts-usmnt-uswnt-001147312.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAKnS6DxxGvK-aFqzfbkXfOX1R-xlZAnn7HQIbqVjAh-O2nvw3MRMsJvRCGFuGqZNxq1J9udjaa4O_MFBtgCTvG_ihuWsdsdCBKtQbzH99p3uZGrHNyRvAOsk3seZJnxj8XRp9xDTDceg48muZcX5ttVwFs_-UPhstqzlpQvLzs34">pay structure</a> to all its senior players, but the women’s team believe the offer does not go far enough if it means a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/asifburhan/2021/09/15/alex-morgan-believes-offer-of-equal-pay-at-reduced-level-is-not-good-enough/?sh=f917ac2542fc">reduction in player earnings</a>. The legal case is still ongoing, with the team <a href="https://www.espn.co.uk/football/united-states-usaw/story/4437227/uswnt-to-fight-us-soccer-in-equal-pay-row-appeal-judges-decision-as-it-defies-reality">filing an appeal</a> this summer after a judge dismissed their lawsuit.</p>
<p>Women’s football has arguably led the way in the fight for equal pay, but there have also been notable changes in rugby in recent months. England’s women have risen to the top of the world rankings since fully professionalising at the start of 2019. This year, an under-fire Welsh Rugby Union offered women rugby players <a href="https://twitter.com/WelshRugbyUnion/status/1455882641295740932?s=20">professional contracts</a>. Although there are still issues to be overcome, for the first time in their history up to ten players will have full-time professional contracts, with a further 15 players on retainer contracts. </p>
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<p>While the increase in both professional opportunities and pay parity for women athletes is worthy of celebration, women should not have to feel grateful for the opportunity. And, like the USWNT have done so publicly, they can legitimately demand, and expect, more.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167943/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Recent developments in pay parity show a promising future for women’s sport.Beth Clarkson, Senior Lecturer in Sports Management, University of PortsmouthAlex Culvin, Senior Lecturer in Sports Business, Leeds Beckett UniversityAli Bowes, Senior Lecturer in Sociology of Sport, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1578192021-03-29T14:19:18Z2021-03-29T14:19:18ZFootball’s Darkest Secret: why many sexual abuse victims’ complaints were left off charge sheets<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/392291/original/file-20210329-15-abrgeo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/dMDoBGfZHbk">Michael Balog</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s now almost five years since <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/nov/16/andy-woodward">ex-professional footballer Andy Woodward</a> first waived his anonymity to speak out about the abuse he suffered as a child. His decision to come forward broke the silence that had long plagued football, resulting in a surge of disclosures of non-recent child sexual abuse across numerous professional and grass-roots clubs, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-49253181">including</a> Manchester City, Chelsea and Newcastle United.</p>
<p>Over the past week, this abuse in football returned to public attention with the release of barrister Clive Sheldon’s <a href="https://www.thefa.com/news/2021/mar/17/clive-sheldon-qc-independent-commission-report-released-20210317">long-awaited inquiry report</a> into the scandal. It found the Football Association (FA) to be culpable of “institutional failures” in its responsibility to keep players safe, with a number of clubs being shown to have ignored allegations and rumours surrounding coaches and scouts in their organisations. </p>
<p>A few days after the report’s publication, the BBC began broadcasting a three-part documentary series titled <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000ths4">Football’s Darkest Secret</a>. It explores sexual abuse in youth football and the aftermath of the disclosures coming to light. Victims and survivors powerfully share their experiences of abuse and the subsequent impact it has had across their lives.</p>
<p>Since 2016, a number of youth coaches and scouts have been convicted and jailed for the sexual abuse they committed against boys in their care. Hundreds of courageous individuals disclosed to the authorities, with a number also waiving their anonymity to speak publicly about the abuse they suffered as young players. </p>
<p>The BBC documentary explores the criminal cases of three key perpetrators in the game, highlighting the complexity of investigating and prosecuting such cases. My ongoing research (not yet published) explores the experiences of these victims within the criminal justice system. Many victims and survivors aren’t only faced with the impact of their abuse, but also the pain caused by the justice system itself.</p>
<h2>Complaints vs charges</h2>
<p>For the purposes of this piece, I’ve explored just one area that was touched upon in the BBC documentary: the number of victims taken forward to prosecute an offender in these cases. This was most evident in the case of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/feb/19/barry-bennell-branded-sheer-evil-as-he-is-sentenced-to-31-years">Barry Bennell</a>, the former football coach whose sexual abuse of young boys spanned decades. </p>
<p>Despite over 100 victims making reports to the police, charges were <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43118069">only brought</a> for 12 victims in 2018 and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/oct/08/barry-bennell-sentenced-to-fifth-jail-term-for-sexual-offences-against-boys">a further two</a> in subsequent proceedings in 2020. The senior investigating officer in charge of the case highlighted the reason for this decision in the documentary: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>We took advice very early on from legal counsel with regards to what a prospective trial should look like; their advice was very clear. We should limit the number of victims represented at any one trial to anything between 10 and 14. It was our counsel’s view that a jury would really struggle to maintain concentration and to maintain the degree of inquisitive interest that they would require in this case if it was above that number.</p>
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<p>Even so, higher numbers of victims were taken forward in other cases of abuse in football shown in the documentary. In former football coach <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jun/12/bob-higgins-jailed-for-24-years-for-abusing-young-footballers">Bob Higgins’</a> case, 24 victims were taken forward in 2019, while 18 were included in the prosecution against <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-44708149">George Ormond</a> in 2018. </p>
<p>Of course, each case has its own complexities, and the decision by prosecutors can be dependent on various factors. However, it’s not clear how the jury’s level of concentration would differ across each of these trials, which raises the question: why weren’t more victims taken forward in the case against Bennell?</p>
<h2>Jury concentration</h2>
<p>If a jury’s ability to concentrate is being used as the criteria for deciding the number of cases brought forward, there should be more consistency (were the jurors in the Bennell trial less able than those in the Higgins case, for example?). Regardless, it’s worrying that jurors’ level of focus is being used to deny victims the opportunity to see justice done in their individual cases, despite having come forward to the police and potentially exposing themselves and their families to more trauma in the process.</p>
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<img alt="Man speaking to press outside Winchester Crown Court" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391956/original/file-20210326-19-9xshgr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2400%2C1713&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391956/original/file-20210326-19-9xshgr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391956/original/file-20210326-19-9xshgr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391956/original/file-20210326-19-9xshgr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391956/original/file-20210326-19-9xshgr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391956/original/file-20210326-19-9xshgr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391956/original/file-20210326-19-9xshgr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Dean Radford, ex youth footballer and victim of child sexual abuse, speaking to press outside Winchester Crown Court after the sentencing of Bob Higgins.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.bbcpictures.co.uk/index.php/image/22187147?collection=22186889+22187161+22187147+22186947+22187091+22187077+22186933+22186731+22186818+22186919+22187063+22186990+22187133+22186976+22187119+22187049&back=L2luZGV4LnBocC9zZWFyY2gvc2ltcGxlP3NlYXJjaCU1Qmdsb2JhbCU1RD1Gb290YmFsbCUyNTI3cyUyQkRhcmtlc3QlMkJTZWNyZXQmYW1wO3NlYXJjaCU1QmJiY193ZWVrJTVEPSZhbXA7c2VhcmNoJTVCY2hhbm5lbCU1RD0mYW1wO3NlYXJjaCU1QnByb2dyYW1tZSU1RD0mYW1wO3NlYXJjaCU1QmtleXdvcmRzJTVEPSZhbXA7cGFnZT0yJmFtcDs%3D">BBC pictures</a></span>
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<p>It’s also important to note that final charges in the Bennell case were only brought in 2020, which presumably meant that many victims had to wait four years to then be unquestionably told their case was not being taken forward. As my findings revealed, the impact of this has been devastating for victims and their families. </p>
<p>It risks reinforcing the barriers which initially stopped them disclosing their experiences, specifically the fear of not being believed. Although these victims didn’t appear in the documentary, they shouldn’t be forgotten. This disparity needs to be addressed in the criminal justice system, with closer attention paid to growing numbers of mass disclosures of non-recent and contemporary abuse in society.</p>
<p>As a result of the Sheldon report, discussions have rightly focused on the failings of both the football authorities and clubs in protecting players. However, the role of the law and criminal justice system also needs to be examined to stop further re-traumatisation and distress. By listening to victims and survivors, we can better understand how the criminal justice system should both adapt to improve the experience for complainants and provide justice for as many victims as possible.</p>
<p><em>If you have been affected by any issues in this story or need support and information, contact: <a href="https://www.safeline.org.uk/safelines-coronavirus-response-safeline-is-open/">National Male Survivor Helpline</a> or the <a href="http://www.offsidetrust.com/contact-us">NSPCC’s dedicated helpline for football survivors</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/157819/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ailish Saker receives funding from the FIFA Research Scholarship. The project is still ongoing, so if you’re a victim-survivor of non-recent child sexual abuse in football and would be willing to share your experiences of the criminal justice system, please reach out to <a href="mailto:ailish.saker@crim.ox.ac.uk">ailish.saker@crim.ox.ac.uk</a>.</span></em></p>Discussions have rightly focused on the failings of authorities and clubs. But the role of the law should also be examined.Ailish Saker, PhD Candidate of non-recent child sexual abuse in football, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/952472018-05-03T10:35:27Z2018-05-03T10:35:27ZPep Guardiola and the long tradition of mixing football with politics<p>As manager of Manchester City, this season <a href="https://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/pep-guardiolas-trophy-cabinet-36809173.html">Pep Guardiola has won</a> the Premier League and the Carabao Cup. By wearing a yellow ribbon on his chest, he has also been charged and <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/43350447">fined £20,000</a> by the English Football Association (FA) for “wearing a political message”. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2018/03/06/pep-guardiola-claims-fa-chief-martin-glenn-failed-understand/">Guardiola insists</a> the ribbon does not represent support for Catalan independence, but instead shows solidarity with pro-independence politicians who have been imprisoned. Either way, the political undertones are clear, and led to the chief of the FA, Martin Glenn, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/mar/04/fa-pep-guardiola-yellow-ribbon-manchester-city-poppy">stating</a>: “We don’t want political symbols in football.” </p>
<p>But whether or not we want politics to be a part of football, clubs are, to a great extent, made up of their sense of history and place. This fact is demonstrated on the terraces, on the pitch and beyond, where football, politics, and identity all come together.</p>
<p>Football as an expression of political identification and resistance has plenty of examples. FC Barcelona’s slogan “<a href="https://www.fcbarcelona.com/club/identity/card/more-than-a-club-">more than a Club</a>” is well-known, as is its association with Catalan culture and society. The club was also a popular symbol of resistance during the dictatorships of Primo de Rivera and Francisco Franco, and has a famous rivalry with Real Madrid, the club seen by many as the footballing representation of the centralist Spanish state.</p>
<p>Perhaps less famous is the territorial development of Athletic de Bilbao in the Basque Country. Like Catalonia, the Basque Country is an historical “autonomous community” within the Spanish state, with a strong sense of self.</p>
<p>Founded in 1901, Athletic de Bilbao has, since around 1912, only signed local Basque players (albeit with varying degrees of strictness and interpretation). Given the timing of the club’s foundation and growing feelings of Basque nationalism, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/16138171.2012.11687887">some have speculated</a> that the origins of this tradition may be tied to the Basque nationalist ideology of Sabino Arana, who founded the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Basque-Nationalist-Party">Basque Nationalist Party</a> (PNV) in 1895. Many of the club’s bosses were affiliated to the PNV, and Jose Antonio Aguirre, the first president of the Basque Country, once played for Athletic de Bilbao.</p>
<p>The Franco dictatorship – which imposed restrictions on the Basque language – did little to weaken Athletic de Bilbao’s insistence on recruiting local players. And the club’s crest, which includes images of a San Anton church and bridge, located in the province of Bizkaia, is yet another symbolic expression of its geographical and political roots. </p>
<p>In the UK, too, when football clubs play, their <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Football-Against-Enemy-Simon-Kuper/dp/0752848771">histories also play</a>. This could not be truer than in the case of the two Glasgow clubs, Rangers and Celtic. When these sides meet, football, politics and religion are all inside the stadium.</p>
<h2>Old Firm holds firm</h2>
<p>Celtic FC was set up in Glasgow’s poverty stricken East End, where many Irish Catholics had settled in a bid to escape the famine in their home country. The club has its origins in the displacement of people, with the club acting as a point of cohesion. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, many Protestants began to gravitate towards Rangers, and over time the club came to be associated with Scottish Protestantism and Unionism. When the two teams meet on the pitch, the interaction of football and identity is in plain sight, through traditional songs and historic intense rivalry. </p>
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<p>A more recent connection between football and politics is clear in the Serbian clubs Partizan Belgrade and Red Star Belgrade, which were described by journalist <a href="http://inbedwithmaradona.com/journal/2017/5/3/an-in-depth-analysis-of-serbian-football-partizan-red-star-belgrade">Nebojsa Markovic</a> as “socialist institutions”. </p>
<p>In 1944, after the National Liberation Army of Yugoslavia (with help from the Soviet Army) took control of Yugoslavia, many of the country’s pre-war clubs ceased to exist. This created space for new clubs to emerge which would reflect the developing political reality. </p>
<p>Red Star came first and took the communist inspired five-pointed red star as its symbol. Partizan was later formed by members of the Yugoslav army.
Both clubs survived the break up of Yugoslavia. </p>
<p>With the two clubs located in Belgrade, efforts were later made to turn them into symbols of Serbian national identification. However, they were unable to shake off their Yugoslav heritage and links to the communist state. </p>
<p>As Markovic <a href="http://inbedwithmaradona.com/journal/2017/5/3/an-in-depth-analysis-of-serbian-football-partizan-red-star-belgrade">observed</a>, Partizan’s club crest maintains its image of the six flames which represent the six nations and six republics that were part of communist Yugoslavia. Red Star clearly maintain their red star. A complex political situation forged the evolving identities of the two clubs, including a global context that pitched communism against democracy and the Soviet state against the West. At a more local level, the clubs came to embody a distinctly Serbian identity sitting uneasily beside a wider Yugoslavian one. </p>
<p>Serbia, Scotland and Spain are just three examples of the close relationship between politics and football which exists across the world. Perhaps that’s why Guardiola continues to wear his yellow ribbon. His focus is on his club’s quest for trophies. Because in football, like politics, winning is everything.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/95247/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nothing to disclose.</span></em></p>Football clubs are, to a great extent, made up of their sense of history and place.Scott Rawlinson, PhD Candidate, Political Science, University of East AngliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/907762018-01-30T14:33:18Z2018-01-30T14:33:18ZPhil Neville’s form shows why he is a risky choice to be head coach of England’s women’s football team<p>The <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/42709928">appointment of Phil Neville</a> as head coach of the England women’s football team has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/jan/29/phil-neville-tweet-england-women">proven controversial</a>. But what exactly is the controversy here? Is it that he is a man, coaching a woman’s team and the job should instead have gone to a woman? </p>
<p>Is it that he just doesn’t have the skills, knowledge and experience necessary? Or is it his <a href="http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/11227707/phil-neville-the-wording-in-my-tweets-was-not-right">tendency to tweet</a> sexist, misogynist messages including a mention of wife beating? </p>
<p>If a woman had been appointed as manager of a men’s football side, many would likely argue that gender should not matter, and that what does matter is talent. This is one of the key debates in the drive to see more women in senior leadership roles, particularly when the discussion turns to female quotas. It should not be about gender, it should be about ensuring the right talent for the role. </p>
<p>On that premise, gender shouldn’t matter here either. Whether it is a woman managing a men’s football side or a man managing a women’s side, the focus should be on the skills, knowledge and capabilities of the individual. </p>
<p>If we say that a man can’t represent and coach a women’s team does that mean that women can’t coach men? What would that do for the advancement of women in the sports industry? Surely talent trumps gender as a qualification.</p>
<p>Putting gender aside, the next question is does Neville have the skills, knowledge and capability required for a managerial role? </p>
<p>His career history shows steady and logical progression. He has the expert background with a distinguished ten-year career as a player at Manchester United. He then began his coaching career in 2012 <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/17149989">with England’s men’s Under-21 team</a>, was considered for the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/may/21/phil-neville-everton-manager">job of Everton manager</a>, and then moved to be first team coach at Manchester United, followed by a spell at Spanish side Valencia.</p>
<p>A managerial role is the next logical career step. And being a first time manager doesn’t necessarily make him “unqualified” for the post. In business, career progression often entails moving from a senior specialist role into managerial or leadership roles without any training and without the experience.</p>
<p>Being a talented high performer however, is not just about skills, knowledge and capability – it is also about behaviours. It is behaviours which differentiate talented, high performing individuals. High performance involves not just what you do, but how you go about doing it. </p>
<p>Almost as soon as Neville was appointed (and deleted his Twitter account), tweets he posted in 2011 and 2012 surfaced. <a href="http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/11227707/phil-neville-the-wording-in-my-tweets-was-not-right">One tweet read</a>: “Relax I’m back chilled - just battered the wife!!! Feel better now!” </p>
<p>Another suggested he hadn’t addressed a previous tweet to women as he assumed they would be cooking, making beds, or looking after children. </p>
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<p>It is this casual bias (or what some might call a sexist and misogynistic attitude) that could be perceived as making him inherently unsuitable to coach a high performing female football team – especially given the prominence of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/20/women-worldwide-use-hashtag-metoo-against-sexual-harassment">#MeToo movement</a> and the recent men only <a href="https://theconversation.com/presidents-club-dinner-why-good-deeds-never-justify-bad-actions-90678">Presidents Club charity debacle</a>. In that context, saying the comments were made in jest appears even less of a justification. </p>
<h2>Words matter …</h2>
<p>It is a reminder of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jun/13/tim-hunt-hung-out-to-dry-interview-mary-collins">rapid demise of the career</a> of Nobel Prize winning biochemist Tim Hunt. He, supposedly in humour, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-33077107">told an international science conference</a>: “Let me tell you about my trouble with girls. Three things happen when they are in the lab: you fall in love with them, they fall in love with you, and when you criticise them they cry.”</p>
<p>Regardless of the <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/women-scientists-defend-sexist-nobel-winner-rtm367wr6px">women who stepped forward</a> to defend his support of the careers of women scientists, Twitter and his <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/jun/11/nobel-laureate-sir-tim-hunt-resigns-trouble-with-girls-comments">own tendency</a> to admit to being a “chauvinist” derailed his career.</p>
<p>Women have also stepped forward to cite how supportive Neville has been in their development. In particular, England forward Toni Duggan <a href="http://www.skysports.com/football/news/28508/11222272/toni-duggan-believes-phil-neville-can-take-england-women-to-the-next-level">argued</a> that Neville is the head coach England Women need to take them to the next level and cites his supportive attitude towards women. </p>
<p>So if he is not sexist, what about the tweets? Was it male bravado, or was he just playing to his base of followers? Alternatively, did a lack of emotional intelligence cause him to sabotage himself through an inability to control his impulses? In a desire to tweet something, just tweet anything? One thing is for certain, with the rise of the #MeToo movement, joking about hitting your wife has never been less funny.</p>
<p>Neville’s Twitter habit was in danger of eclipsing his skills and capabilities, casting doubts on his suitability for the role and sabotaging his reputation. With his Twitter account now deleted, the focus can now be on judging Neville by his results. </p>
<p>Unfortunately for Neville, high performance is never just about the result – it is also about behaviours. Skills and capabilities aside, it may be he simply does not have the temperament for the role.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/90776/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Suzanne Ross is a Senior Lecturer at Nottingham Business School and the owner of 2thrive Consultancy. 2thrive specialises in talent management, high performance practices, leadership development and developing female talent.</span></em></p>It’s not just about his football skills and knowledge. It’s about how he behaves.Suzanne Ross, Senior Lecturer, Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/726062017-02-17T13:56:32Z2017-02-17T13:56:32ZHow Blackburn Rovers fans could use Man Utd to help dislodge their unpopular Indian owners<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157168/original/image-20170216-9535-uzb4y8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The statue outside Ewood Park of former Blackburn Rovers owner "Uncle" Jack Walker</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/109794565@N05/12559051215/in/photolist-k8NqnM-g28g4G-6yhbe-9hEmwt-4dQLGb-6TxA4K-oF122v-w1BdR-dCFugv-pz8moq-apUrN2-QL2PZ1-6xmDuU-EYQwqB-sBWAG-5UygZF-fQPrK8-5bwgXA-mm9B9M-dCFuki-4QMWjF-g4tCp5-4QMWKp-g4tz5w-eewJ9r-oRtsvY-sbHWMF-powFwT-oB1ixZ-cuMp2-41axF-fR1et9-w1BdS-fh3zjP-eEBYrg-vhiF-7SFs3g-6xhtD8-9rvhyZ-gjPsnR-7SFs38-6xmzVY-pBVuBw-kSwjSH-6o6eB7-6o6fnS-2D7aWZ-exDhMf-8V3dDr-8w8h2S">Kevin Bates/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Disgruntled Blackburn Rovers fans are desperate for the club’s owners, Indian poultry firm VH Group – better known as Venky’s – to sell the club after a disastrous spell in charge during which the club has been relegated and and its players <a href="http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/9165848.Blackburn_Rovers_players_star_in_new_Venky_s_advert/">humiliated</a>. Until now, any protests from fans have failed to make an impact in India, but when Blackburn Rovers play Manchester United in the FA Cup this weekend fans may have a chance to amplify their message beyond the shores of the UK to the Indian subcontinent – all with the aid of a helpful hashtag.</p>
<p>It’s been a long time coming – Venky’s has owned the club since 2010 when Rovers was a well-run Premier League outfit. Initially the group had been looking to purchase a club in Pune, India, but full ownership of a Premier League team was seen as a shrewd move, tapping into a growing love of English Premier League football in India. A marketing video was quickly produced showing players tucking in to Venky’s chicken products with the slogan: “Good for you”. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Venky’s Blackburn FC chicken advert.</span></figcaption>
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<p>The advert – along with another club campaign <a href="https://theconversation.com/blackburn-rovers-kit-launch-ruffles-feathers-as-birdysdate-goes-viral-29607">#BirdysDate</a> - was <a href="http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/9165848.Blackburn_Rovers_players_star_in_new_Venky_s_advert/#comments-anchor">widely mocked</a>, but it illustrated how the Indian chicken firm saw the club as a tool to push its products.</p>
<p>And it was not long before the new owners started ruffling feathers both inside and outside Rovers. Soon after Venky’s took over Rovers’ manager, Sam Allardyce, was sacked while the club sat in a respectable 13th place in the Premier League. Star defenders Phil Jones and Chris Samba were sold to Manchester United and Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala respectively. An inexperienced manager from the backroom staff, Steve Kean, was then appointed and the club were eventually <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/17890899">relegated in 2012</a>. They have since struggled in the Championship with an embarrassing merry-go-round of managers, players and backroom staff and a reported <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/football/epl/top-stories/VENKYSOUT-Fans-want-Indian-owners-to-leave-Blackburn-Rovers/articleshow/53867212.cms">£100m debt</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157165/original/image-20170216-12960-g2qumi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157165/original/image-20170216-12960-g2qumi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157165/original/image-20170216-12960-g2qumi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157165/original/image-20170216-12960-g2qumi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157165/original/image-20170216-12960-g2qumi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157165/original/image-20170216-12960-g2qumi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157165/original/image-20170216-12960-g2qumi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Blackburn Rovers fans protesting against the club owners in 2016.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisfp/26641943652/in/photolist-GAfVE5-3a61H6-3aawho-apUthp-pJs2gd-e7NU1X-FNWiQ7-67V9dB-3aawFq-GAghYC-GGeR3j-e7V1bC-FNWhR3-GGePPs-GJvb5V-GJvbCZ-FPa62z-67V95n-GCE4WX-e7PfhP-FPa4qt-GJv762-GCE7nP-GCE2Lz-GCE172-GCE1YT-GJuLPM-GCE4pz-apXzWN-GJv87a-cHUqNo-FP9s3p-dVzb94-GCDZ8D-GJufnp-8eWiU-GJv5aP-GCDWyk-GCDVdz-e7V2Vu-67ZjzL-GAgb7m-GJv49F-cHU517-e7Psok-GCDTpK-FNW4DG-FNW5F1-GJv19x-7Ji9eF">Chris Page/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Organisations such as the <a href="http://www.roverstrust.com/">Rovers Trust</a> have tried to take back control of the club and open a dialogue with Venky’s about the club’s future. The owners have essentially detached themselves from Rovers and halted any investment, putting the club into a state of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Managed_decline">managed decline</a>. </p>
<p>Fans responded by boycotting the recent FA Cup clash with Blackpool, a move which was labelled by The Independent as <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/fa-league-cups/blackburn-blackpool-boycott-fa-cup-venkys-out-oystons-protest-a7549966.html">the most important fan protest in years</a>. Some fans have even started a <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/venkysadvert?rcid=316a6fdc73a811e6a3eabc764e052a98">kickstarter campaign</a> to raise money to pay for a “Venky’s Out” advertisement in an Indian newspaper.</p>
<p>Rovers won the game against Blackpool and have now drawn Manchester United at home. On the field, a weakened Rovers side will be underdogs – but off the field, the match might present an opportunity for fans to make a noise using the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/VenkysOut">#VenkysOut Twitter hashtag</a>. Between them Manchester United stars Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimović have more than 7m followers on Twitter alone and overall, United has more than 10m Twitter followers and 72m likes on their official Facebook page.</p>
<p>The prediction of the rise of football and Premier League in India was correct. <a href="http://www.manutd.com/en/News-And-Features/Club-News/2012/May/manchester-united-global-following-confirmed-as-659million.aspx?pageNo=1">Kantar’s 2012 study of Manchester United fans</a> for example, was the largest-ever football survey and it showed that United had 659m followers, half of whom were in Asia. This massive fan base of Indian Manchester United and Premier League followers was the audience that Venky’s sought to tap into – but without Premier League status and stars, the Rovers / Venky’s brand is practically invisible in India, failing to give Venky’s brand the boost the owners had coveted.</p>
<h2>Timelines and hashtags</h2>
<p>Social media algorithms work in such a way that conversation around a brand leads to more visibility on people’s timelines. In effect, that means that Manchester United fans in India will discuss their team and their timelines will accordingly offer them more United content. Any Blackburn Rovers stories or content are rendered invisible by the social media platforms used extensively by Indian fans. A big club such as Manchester United with a huge fan base in India generates a lot of discussion on social media platforms. By contrast, Blackburn Rovers is relatively invisible on social media in India.</p>
<p>But the #VenkysOut campaign has an increased chance of reaching India via the social media feeds of United fans in India. The #VenkysOut “18/75” campaign is urging fans not to take to their seats until the 18th minute and to leave the stadium on the 75th minute. Supporters are also planning on holding up red cards during the match or download a special red card app. The aim is to get Venky’s to cut their losses and sell the club.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Social media is massive in India and has a <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0038038516660040?ai=1gvoi&mi=3ricys&af=R">history of galvanising and amplifying fan protest</a>. The Manchester United FA Cup game is the biggest chance in years to make a statement that could reach millions of international fans sitting on the end of smart phones and social media. The impact will remain to be seen but there is at least a glimmer of positivity and hope for Rovers fans.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/72606/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alex Fenton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Can social media and a high profile clash with Manchester United help disgruntled Blackburn Rovers fans lodge a protest that will resonate in India where the club’s unpopular owners reside?Alex Fenton, Lecturer in Digital Business, University of SalfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/665162016-10-10T16:45:37Z2016-10-10T16:45:37ZFootball agents should not be sent off - they just need a better set of rules<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/141114/original/image-20161010-3860-13sdb3b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The power behind the ball.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-407187145/stock-photo-soccer-player-with-ball-in-action-outdoors.html?src=MocqoSgdrPfnhM9p-XX0gw-1-5">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The war for talent is raging across the world. From Silicon Valley to <a href="http://www.china.org.cn/english/travel/51023.htm">Zhongguancun</a>, organisations and institutions battle to recruit the best the world has to offer. So why is the football labour market viewed any differently to that of other industries and sectors? Surely demand for star players should be no different to the demand for product designers, data scientists and programmers. </p>
<p>Yet in light of the current controversies surrounding issues such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-england-managers-red-card-could-net-a-win-for-the-future-of-football-66219">third-party ownership (TPO)</a> and accusations of greed, and due to its mass market global appeal, football <em>is</em> different. </p>
<p>It seems strange then, that so little is known about the inner workings of the football machine – and in particular, those mysterious agents who grease the wheels, move the cogs and, apparently, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/34968159">make vast sums of money</a> in the process.</p>
<p>Football agents make some of the biggest deals in football, sometimes <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3247576/Football-agents-played-major-transfer-dealings-years-powerful-pervading-game.html">profiting hugely</a> from the talents of their superstar clients. Their <a href="http://www.tandfebooks.com/doi/book/10.4324/9781315695709">role can be defined</a> as “representing clubs and players within the context of contracts or transfer negotiations”. </p>
<p>Essentially, they are middlemen. But their role is increasingly growing to include responsibilities traditionally undertaken by the football club, such as being sold to another team. This raises the significant possibility of conflict of interest, when agents and clubs disagree about the player’s career path. Muddying the waters further is a hierarchy of power and division of labour within the role of agent so that some smaller agents work under the orders of the more powerful few. </p>
<p>So where do these agents come from? In <a href="http://www.football-observatory.com/IMG/pdf/report_agents_2012-2.pdf">a report</a> on the big five leagues, just over half of agents had already worked in the football industry. Of these, 23% had a playing career, 13% scouted for players, 7.5% worked as a football manager and, 5.5% were sporting directors.</p>
<p>At the top of the profession, are the powerful few described by the media as “<a href="http://www.eurosport.com/football/who-are-football-s-biggest-agents-what-is-a-super-agent-jorge-mendes-mino-raiola-represent-who_sto5699705/story.shtml">super agents</a>”. <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3247576/Football-agents-played-major-transfer-dealings-years-powerful-pervading-game.html">Jorge Mendes</a> is considered by many to be top of the pile, with clients including Cristiano Ronaldo, Diego Costa and Jose Mourinho among the £625m worth of contracts he has secured. </p>
<p>But given the current lack of transparency and regulation, all the agents and their dealings are difficult to identify, although they are viewed as the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3247576/Football-agents-played-major-transfer-dealings-years-powerful-pervading-game.html">most powerful men in football</a>. </p>
<p>Despite the significant number of people registered as agents in professional football, their presence is not evenly spread. A <a href="http://www.football-observatory.com/IMG/pdf/report_agents_2012-2.pdf">recent report highlights</a> that representation in Europe’s five big leagues (England, Spain, France, Germany and Italy) is so highly concentrated that half of those leagues’ footballers are managed by only 83 football agents or agencies.</p>
<p>These increasingly powerful upper hierarchy of agents <a href="https://footballcollective.wordpress.com/2016/09/27/the-networked-rise-and-power-of-the-football-super-agent/">operate globally</a> across divisions, leagues and continents.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140924/original/image-20161007-21447-1kgyx33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140924/original/image-20161007-21447-1kgyx33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140924/original/image-20161007-21447-1kgyx33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140924/original/image-20161007-21447-1kgyx33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140924/original/image-20161007-21447-1kgyx33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140924/original/image-20161007-21447-1kgyx33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140924/original/image-20161007-21447-1kgyx33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Agent Jorge Mendes and the number of his transfers (thickness of lines) between clubs (circles), up until June 2016.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Widdop, Parnell and Asghar</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Public and industry opinion towards football agents remains hostile – Napoli’s owner, Aurelio de Laurentis, has described them as the “<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/37570186">cancer of our world</a>”. The media frenzy often directed at agents is adding pressure across the football industry to better regulate them. But football intermediary <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/sep/29/football-corruption-agents-conerns-fa-fifa">Jonathan Booker</a> claims that it is those in football leadership, not the agents themselves, who have stood by and let this status quo continue. </p>
<p>And what about the agents themselves? Despite the fact that they should have a key voice in the debate about their role, you rarely hear from them. As part of <a href="https://danielparnellblog.wordpress.com/2016/09/28/the-networked-rise-and-power-of-the-football-super-agent/">our research</a> we have interviewed football agents and intermediaries operating across the UK, Europe and beyond. </p>
<p>One of them explained that TPO has become common practice as a direct result of the economic recession, which led to financial institutions withholding loans, overdrafts and other financial benefits to clubs. He also argued that “the advantages [of TPO] can be multilateral”, explaining: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The buying club can obtain a player who will make their team better without having to pay the full amount the selling club is asking for. And the investor, whether that is an agent or consultant or company, will look for a return on that investment.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Addressing concerns about the impact of agent deregulation by FIFA in April 2015, he continued: “What does football expect? To become a coach in a professional club you need a relevant, often nationally accepted qualification. To become an agent you need to simply pay a small [£500] fee. This has created a context whereby a huge influx of agents have appeared, lacking due knowledge of regulation and impacting upon the system by continually approaching players with misplaced promises whilst trying to gain a living. </p>
<p>"It has opened the gate to the rogue agents that give all agents a bad name.”</p>
<h2>FA as agents of change?</h2>
<p>In the UK, the picture appears bleak, contradictory and dominated by big money. While we have strong calls by the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/03/31/fa-urged-to-blacklist-new-breed-of-rogue-brokers/">FA for tighter local regulation</a>, the <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/top-premier-league-clubs-fa-to-make-it-easier-to-sign-young-prospects-under-16-years-old-teenagers-a7345121.html">Premier League is pushing for an easing</a> in youth (aged 14-15) player regulation. This will no doubt heat up the chase for younger and cheaper players and will open up the disturbing reality of <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-the-next-fifa-president-could-do-to-tackle-child-trafficking-in-football-52016">child trafficking and exploitation</a>, when agents arrange ownership of very young players from developing countries. There’s no suggestion that the Premier League condones trafficking or exploitation of young players.</p>
<p>While agents call for global leadership and governance from FIFA to get rid of the rogue elements from their industry, many observers (and insiders) are treating this is a long-term aspiration (<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Football-Corruption-Lies-Revisiting-Badfellas/dp/1138681776">given they have enough to deal with already!</a>). In the interim, the FA has an opportunity to lead and demonstrate a gold standard of practice, by heading up a coalition of stakeholders including the Association of Football Agents, the Premier League, English Football Championship and leagues, Players Football Association and government.</p>
<p>Complete transparency on all transfer and financial sensitivities, a formal and enhanced accreditation process and a national programme of education and training would allow the FA to protect its assets, repair its integrity, and position itself as a leader in football regulation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/66516/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel Parnell receives funding from a range of organisations, including charities, business, government and research councils. Daniel has received funding from the English Premier League, the Football Foundation and a number of charities attached to professional football clubs who he advises. He is a co-founder of The Football Collective, a platform developed to support critical debate in football.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Widdop receives funding from a range of organisations, including charities, business, government and research councils. Paul has received funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council; Scottish Government and the Football Foundation. He is a co-founder of The Football Collective, a platform developed to support critical debate in football.</span></em></p>How the much maligned masters of the modern game would benefit from regulation.Daniel Parnell, Senior Lecturer in Business Management, Manchester Metropolitan UniversityPaul Widdop, Research Fellow in Consumption, Leeds Beckett UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/270452014-05-22T05:21:56Z2014-05-22T05:21:56ZScudamore email affair reveals Britain’s elitist club culture<p>Controversy continues to envelop Richard Scudamore, the long-standing Chief Executive of the English Premier League, nearly two weeks after <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/premier-league-boss-richard-scudamore-3524857">sexist emails</a> he exchanged with business associates were leaked by a former personal assistant. His future at the helm of the league remains in doubt despite the decision of its constituent clubs, and more latterly the Football Association (FA), to take no further disciplinary action following his public <a href="http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/05/19/uk-soccer-england-scudamore-idUKKBN0DZ1W220140519">apology</a>.</p>
<p>Why has the Scudamore affair caused so much controversy? For the most part the media has been split along familiar lines. On one side are those who argue that Scudamore’s apology is sufficient recompense for his “private” indiscretions and that the clamouring for further disciplinary action is not only unwarranted, but illustrative of the vengeful, hypocritical stance of the “<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2632002/MARTIN-SAMUEL-Richard-Scudamore-ass-witch-hunt-ridiculous.html">professionally outraged</a>”. There are others, such as the Women in Football network, who claim that such “everyday” sexism reflects a dysfunctional working culture that is “<a href="http://www.womeninfootball.co.uk/news/">a long way from equality</a>”.</p>
<p>The danger of reducing the debate to familiar tabloid terrain on the boundaries of political correctness is that it neglects the deeper tensions at play. The Premier League’s handling of the affair demonstrates its inability to regulate itself effectively. The internal investigation was conducted by Peter McCormick, the league chairman and only other member of the two-man board in addition to Scudamore. The decision to involve the league’s audit and remuneration committee, a body made up of another four white, middle-aged men with no remit for equality and diversity issues, to add a veneer of legitimacy to the decision appears to have been a redundant exercise. As <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/may/18/richard-scudamore-sexist-emails-premier-league-review">David Conn</a> highlights, the four appointees are not independent non-executive directors, but there on the exclusive patronage of Scudamore.</p>
<p>Despite the relative modernity of the Premier League – it was created as a breakaway from the rest of Football League in 1992 – it displays many of the characteristic traits and pathologies of other more <a href="http://www.palgrave.com/products/title.aspx?pid=672280">traditional institutions</a> in British social, political and economic life. It is characterised by oligarchic, informal and secretive governance practices – what David Marquand called “club government”. In this club world, members trust each other to observe “<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Unprincipled-Society-David-Marquand/dp/0006861539">the spirit of the club rules</a>”; the notion that the principles underlying the rules should be clearly defined and publicly proclaimed is profoundly alien.</p>
<p>It is ironic that the Premier League has come to reflect these features of traditional British institutions given its avowed rejection of the FA as a model of governance. In place of the FA’s stuffy “blazer brigade” of county association old boys was to be the brave new dawn of the Premier League, which was to be professionalised, strategic and commercially astute. On one level the Premier League been an unmitigated success; the huge revenue streams negotiated for member clubs is the main motivation for the rear-guard defence of Scudamore in the face of the recent backlash.</p>
<p>In stark contrast, however, to its self-portrayal as a modern, corporate entity the Premier League is entrenched in a governance culture that can be traced back to the 19th century, where sport and the other emerging professions of law, medicine and engineering were a <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9299.1989.tb00740.x/abstract">haven for self-regulation</a>. </p>
<p>The fact that Scudamore and his associates felt able – sexist discrimination aside for a moment – to engage in those conversations in their professional capacity reveals that they view the workplace as a private sphere, separate from the other stakeholders in football and the rest of society. Their behaviour reveals more than the tendency of white, middle-aged men with a penchant for golf and shooting to make boorish, sexist remarks. For this elite there seems to be little distinction made between the office, the gold club or the shooting range – they are all enclaves of the same interconnecting club world. The notion that these conversations were “private” has been reasserted in the Premier League’s statement, which denounces the actions of Scudamore’s former PA despite the fact they were sent from an official email address.</p>
<p>The problem for organisations entrenched in this 19th century model is that they are being increasingly challenged in an era of open source information. The public’s demand for greater transparency is breaking down the closed world of the interlocking elites – whether it is parliament (and the expenses scandal), the press (and hacking), or the police (and manipulation of crime statistics). Increased access to information allows the public to better scrutinise the internal operations of these institutions. In the most closed and secretive domains, insiders who refuse to comply with the “spirit” of the club rules are leaking or whistleblowing in the public interest.</p>
<p>These tensions create a double-edged sword for democracy. In one sense the increased scrutiny of key institutions is a good sign – it suggests a maturing democracy with an engaged and increasingly informed electorate. But it is also creates a dilemma for powerful institutions. The first instinct of the elites is to mount a defiant defence of the club’s informal rules, alongside some expression of regret and contrition and a promise that it will be never be repeated. But this strategy is becoming increasingly unsustainable in the face of public criticism and calls for more open governance.</p>
<p>Without thorough institutional reform that addresses the fundamental principles of organisations, such as the Premier League and the FA, tensions over issues like the sexist emails will only become more frequent. A failure to create more open and democratic governance structures will breed resentment and disenchantment, which will damage the legitimacy of these institutions to oversee important areas of social and economic life.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/27045/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel Fitzpatrick does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Controversy continues to envelop Richard Scudamore, the long-standing Chief Executive of the English Premier League, nearly two weeks after sexist emails he exchanged with business associates were leaked…Daniel Fitzpatrick, Research Fellow in Politics, University of ManchesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/266812014-05-14T17:49:34Z2014-05-14T17:49:34ZGive the sports bosses a break – designing a decent competition is tough
<p>England’s Football Association (FA) has revealed plans to accommodate the “B teams” of Premier League clubs further down the league system. FA chairman Greg Dyke emphasised such a move is necessary in order to <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27327502">improve the England national team</a>. </p>
<p>The resulting outcry from across English football was deafening. Everyone from managers to the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27355856">owners of lower league clubs</a> and local fan groups expressed their contempt for what they saw as a divisive move prompted by greedy Premier League clubs. Many claim the change will sound the death knell <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/fas-b-team-plan-reform-english-3515503">for lower league football</a> and, indeed, for the English game’s historic fabric. </p>
<p>It’s not just football where sporting bosses get stick for trying to introduce new ideas. Earlier this year, motor racing’s Formula 1 World Championship began with teams competing under <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/jan/28/new-rules-change-f1-cars-2014">new rules</a> aimed at promoting cost efficiency and reducing environmental damage. While the powers that be may have had good intentions, the subsequent reaction has often <a href="http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2014/04/adrian-newey-slams-new-new-hybrid-f1-rules/">been negative</a>. F1 teams have complained about development costs and the prospect of poor initial car reliability, while senior figures in the sport such as Bernie Ecclestone have said the new generation of cars is <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/motor-racing/f1-bernie-ecclestone-admits-to-being-horrified-by-quiet-engines-on-new-f1-cars-9198886.html">far too quiet</a>.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Look both ways before crossing the track.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Add to this some other recent cases – for example, UEFA’s plan to play the 2020 European Championship across several countries (and <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/2012/dec/06/euro-2020-across-europe-uefa">the criticism</a> that raged in response) – and one is left to reflect upon the words of Abraham Lincoln: “You can please some of the people some of the time, all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time, but you can never please all of the people all of the time.”</p>
<h2>Could you do any better?</h2>
<p>So, moving into full professorial mode, here is some homework for you: design a competition that will take place in your favourite sport. </p>
<p>Any questions? </p>
<p>Some of you could be wondering: why should we do this? A great first response, and exactly the kind of question that you and sports administrators should ask. For those who devised cricket’s Twenty20 format, the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/cricket/article-1025831/Meet-man-invented-Twenty20-cricket--man-missing-millions.html">answer to such a question</a> was: the declining popularity of other forms of cricket; time impoverished spectators seeking new ways of watching the sport; the need to create more compelling spectacles that would appeal to global media corporations; and sponsorship and merchandising revenues.</p>
<p>A second question might be: who is your new competition for? The default reaction for most of us is likely to be “the fans”, and with good reason. But what about the competitors themselves, the teams they play for and, as in the case of the FA’s “B teams” plan, what about links to the national squad? </p>
<p>What about the grassroots level, the lifeblood of any sport? Where and how might media corporations, sponsors and other commercial partners fit into your design plans? Consider too, local communities; after all, it is in their towns and cities that your competition will be staged. The list of stakeholders can seem endless and getting everyone on board may appear to be an insurmountable challenge.</p>
<h2>Short-form sports?</h2>
<p>By now you should have a notion about the context within which you will design your competition – who it is for and why you are doing it. Keeping the context in mind: what format will the competition take? Twenty20 cricket started a trend towards short-format sports, which has subsequently seen similar such initiatives in the likes of snooker and golf. Short format sports truncate traditionally lengthy contests into sharp bursts; in the case of cricket, from five days for a test match to three hours for a Twenty20 match. In football, there are 11 and five-a-side formats as well as futsal, street soccer and others. </p>
<p>It might help to conceive of the competition format in conjunction with developing a structure for it: will it be a league, an annual event, once every four years or simply a one-off? If you have, for instance, a league in mind, is it closed or open? While basketball in North America – the NBA – is a closed league, with no promotion or relegation, and membership determined on a franchise basis, membership of football leagues in Europe is generally determined by annual promotions and relegations.</p>
<p>And then there are the rules, which will need to account for everything from the time at which a match or contest starts, through to where and how technology should be used, the size of sponsor logos on shirts, procedures for dealing with injuries and the specifications for the size of a pitch or field. </p>
<p>This is no easy task; take the case of punishing players. Sports such as ice hockey employ “sin bins” for dealing with offending players while others, such as football, do not. Supporters of the former argue that “in game” punishment is a fair and an equitable way of dealing with disciplinary matters. Supporters of the latter feel “sin bins” disrupt the flow of a game. In your competition, what disciplinary rules are needed and what, if any, should the subsequent punishment be?</p>
<p>You should by now have a well laid-out and detailed plan for your new competition. I bet you have found this exercise easy and the plan looks good. Correct? Or perhaps you actually found the task quite difficult?</p>
<p>Those responsible for governing our sports are often criticised, admonished and mocked for being too slow, too controversial or too introspective in organising and managing sports competitions. But designing sports competitions is never easy. In a rapidly changing world and with numerous stakeholders seeking to assert influence, getting a competition right can seem like an impossible task.</p>
<p>As such, the next time your favourite sport changes its rules or adopts a new format, ask yourself a question: is this the best way and what are the alternatives? But that’s your homework for another time.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/26681/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
England’s Football Association (FA) has revealed plans to accommodate the “B teams” of Premier League clubs further down the league system. FA chairman Greg Dyke emphasised such a move is necessary in…Simon Chadwick, Professor of Sport Business Strategy, Coventry UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.