North Tyneside club shines spotlight on grassroots sports impact to local communities

Wallsend Boys Club has been shining a spotlight on the impact grassroots football creates to local communities.

In an effort to recognise the social contribution goes beyond the just game, the club held an event to share research on the impact of grassroots sports.

Wallsend Boys Club have been supporting girls and boys for almost 120 years providing a variety of activities to the young people of North Tyneside.

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Grassroots football has been at the heart of the club since it opened back in 1904, and since then 92 ex-Wallsend Boys Club players have went onto to play the sport professionally.

But despite the huge numbers of children and young people that play grassroots football each week, little is known about the impact this has on their lives, the lives of their families, and the lives of the volunteers and officials involved in the game.

Grassroots football has not been researched nearly as much as other elements of the sport, or other aspects of children and young people's lives. Last week an event took place at WBC which highlighted some of the work that grassroots and community football clubs do.

The objective of the night - held at the Peter Olsen Community Hub on November 7 - was to share emerging findings from the research ongoing with the club and provide an example of youth-led research involving Northumberland FA and NE Youth.

Dr Stephen Crossley from Durham University discussed initial findings from the research, followed by an open debate which heard the views of a range of stakeholders involved with grassroots football, including researchers, policymakers, volunteers, and funders.

The event was part of the Economic and Social Research Council's (ESRC) Festival of Social Science which encourages the sharing of academic research with public audiences.

The North East Mayor, Kim McGuinness, opened the event and shared her passion for the importance of grassroots sporting clubs in the lives of young people.

"Football is in the North East's DNA and clubs like Wallsend Sports Club are where the region's passion and love for football is nurtured.

"But local clubs' contribution goes go way beyond playing sport - they are rooted in our communities, support families, bind people together and create opportunities where there would otherwise be none.

"I'm inspired by the work of Wallsend Boys ad Girls Club and so many like them right across our region. As Mayor I will support them and recognise the contribution they make to our region and way of life as the UK's Region of Sport."

Dr Stephen Crossley explained his research - which included Trustee and key individual interviews, archival work and parent and carer’s survey. He also went on to explain future research paths will be taken next year. Young people from Voice FC also took the stage to talk about their experiences of grassroots football.

Dr Stephen Crossley commented: "We're really interested in better understanding the value of clubs like Wallsend Boy's Club, which have often been supporting and working with families for many, many years, and the impact they have on people's lives.

"Many families' lives revolve around training sessions and kick-off times at weekends and it is often an important part of their weekly routines. For many children, training and matches will be the favourite parts of their week.

"Grassroots football often makes the news when things go wrong, or when there is abusive behaviour towards coaches and referees, but it would be good to recognise, and shine a spotlight on, the positive elements of it a little more often."

Ultimately, the research group hope to evidence and highlight the value of grassroots football clubs to a wide range of individuals and communities.