Abstract
In recent years, English professional football has been rocked by allegations of historical sexual abuse and safeguarding concerns around young players. This paper examines the potential contribution that sports chaplains can make to the specific welfare needs of elite youth footballers within the wider context of safeguarding practices and protocols. Comprising a small-scale, sociological study involving welfare personnel at English Premier League and English Football League Championship clubs, the paper identifies the scope and potential of sports chaplaincy in relation to the practical outworking of safeguarding policy. Findings reveal that elite youth footballers face a number of pressures specific to the highly competitive environment in which they work and that various safeguarding issues routinely arise amidst these pressures. The paper concludes by suggesting that sports chaplains are ideally placed to provide safeguarding and wider welfare support to young players as a consequence of their independence from team management structures and their prioritization of holistic care above performance-related issues.
Highlights
Association football in the UK has been subject to an unprecedented number of allegations of abuse in recent years, the majority of which date back over several decades.These historical cases have impacted a significant number of individuals and organisations from grassroots to elite level with the integrity of coaches and officials coming into question around safeguarding issues
This paper aims to address this shortfall by exploring some of the pressures and associated safeguarding issues that exist within this particular context and by investigating the extent to which chaplains may have the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution in this area
The paper has provided an indication of the kinds of issues that young players might face within the context of English professional football and how other helping professionals negotiate and facilitate holistic welfare support
Summary
Association (professional) football in the UK has been subject to an unprecedented number of allegations of abuse in recent years, the majority of which date back over several decades. These historical cases have impacted a significant number of individuals and organisations from grassroots to elite level with the integrity of coaches and officials coming into question around safeguarding issues (see, Conn 2018; Morris 2019; Taylor 2018; Wallace 2019).
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