Sky Data poll: Just 20% confident in FA abuse investigation

More than half of people say they do not have confidence in the Football Association's ability to investigate allegations of sexual abuse within the sport, a Sky Data Snap Poll reveals.

Eighteen UK police forces are now looking into claims of historical child sex abuse in football after receiving calls from more than 350 people who say they were victims.

FA chairman Greg Clarke has admitted he cannot be sure whether historical abuse in football has been covered up, and has described the scandal as "the biggest crisis" he has ever seen in the sport.

But, according to the Sky Data poll, 57% of people do not have confidence in the FA to investigate the claims, while just 20% say they are confident in the organisation.

The founder of Enough Abuse UK, Marilyn Hawes, told Sky News she was not surprised by the results - and expected confidence to drop further.

"I fear an organisation that has had such an endemic magnitude of failure and clear cover-up that (no one) should trust them."

Also in the poll, 48% of people said the scandal would make no difference to whether they would send a child to play at a football club.

Some 37% said it would make them less likely to send a child to play football.

Sky Data interviewed a nationally representative sample of 1,014 Sky customers via SMS on 2 December. Data are weighted to the profile of the population.

For full Sky Data tables, click here.

Meanwhile, Southampton Football Club has become the latest to contact police after receiving information relating to the abuse.

A spokesman said: "The club has informed Hampshire Police that we will offer our full support to any investigation they undertake, for as long as it takes, and with our full focus."

Ten suspects have now been identified and the National Association for people Abused in Childhood said it had seen a tenfold increase in the number of adult victims registering for their support groups in recent weeks.

Ex-Chelsea striker Gary Johnson, 57, said his Premier League club had asked him to sign a "gagging order" and paid him £50,000 not to go public with allegations that he was sexually abused by the club's former chief scout Eddie Heath.

He told the Daily Mirror: "I think that they were paying me to keep a lid on this. Millions of fans around the world watch Chelsea.

"They are one of the biggest and richest clubs in the world.

"All their fans deserve to know the truth about what went on. I know they asked me to sign a gagging order and how many others are there out there?"

Chelsea FC said it has launched an independent inquiry which it will share with the FA but it has not denied paying Mr Johnson.

Solicitor Tom West said he had been contacted by another former first team player, who was remaining anonymous, who had been to the police to allege he had been sexually assaulted by Heath.

Mr West told Sky News: "Eddie Heath used to hang around the offices at Stamford Bridge and would grope my client and some of the other boys when they were playing snooker.

"Eddie Heath was a big chap - apparently 6'6, he had an intimidating presence and I think it was quite frightening for my client."