Paper Presentation VI:
The Organization of Women’s Elite Football
Saturday, April 10, 14.15–16.15

J. Day
UK

Most research on women’s football has centred on sociological issues relating to socialisation, participation and gender (Caudwell, 1999; Newsham, 1994; William and Woodhouse, 1991).However, Williams (2003) and Scraton, Fasting and Pfister (1999) have examined international comparisons with regards to voluntary recreation, competitive participation, centralised elite development and elite player experiences. Whilst a few recent studies have focused on talent identification and women’s football (Hoare and Warr, 2000; Hong and Mangan, 2006; Williams, 2007) no studies have attempted to explain, the relationship between sports development structures, player participant pathways, talent identification and/ or player transitions either within top-level women’s football nor from a pan-European perspective.  

This paper is part of a wider study which aims to examine the development structures of women and girls’ football from a Pan European perspective, in order to identify and illuminate the critical transition phases experienced by top- level female football players prior to, during and after their football career. This paper aims to capture the essence of both the structural and protocol complexity of women’s football in Europe. The study explores the developmental philosophy, environment, and situational circumstances (e.g. political and ideological positioning, nature and status of the women’s game) which play a critical role in the player development process. The study will involve semi-structured interviews, (n=6), (Biddle, Markland, Gilbourne, Chatzisarantis and Sparkes, 2001) with the key strategic stakeholders responsible for women and girls football development within their respective European football organisations alongside the collation of strategic and operational policy and practices within each of the women’s football development programmes. Interview data will be predominantly deductively analysed using content analysis procedures (Scanlan, Ravizza and Stein, 1989; Côté, Salmela, Baria and Russel, 1993). The paper will draw upon key implications for the development of women’s football in those countries and from the analysis of the material this will inform the football organisations on their working practices.