Call For Contribution 2022

 

Call for contributions

ISAFA Newsletter Magazine edition 6, 2022

 

 

We welcome short articles, reviews, thoughts, comments, short adverts, success stories, scholarship offers, job offers, interviews, call for partners and collaborators, call for projects, etc…

All materials should be related to football sciences, practices, management, training, medical, etc…

The Newsletter Magazine will be published online and through our network, website, social media platforms and emailing list similarly to our previous editions https://isafa.info/newsletter-magazine/

Submission deadline: 12th of March 2021

 

Guidelines for submission

All submissions will be peer reviewed.

Language: English.

Format: Authors should send their contributions as an attachment file to

contact@isafa.info following the below guidelines:

  • Microsoft Word processed
  • Number of pages: no more than 3 including references
  • Font: Arial 12 for the text and 10 for the references
  • Text: Aligned left
  • Line space: Single
  • Margins: 2 cm all sides
  • The title font size 12 bold
  • Name of the authors and their affiliations (font size 10)
  • Key words: no more than 5 (different to the title)
  • References should be formatted as the American Psychological Association (APA) style (font size 10)
  • Any photos, graphs should be good resolution (colour photos accepted)
  • Please send a photo portrait of the main author

See example below.

Best wishes

Prof Monèm Jemni

Chair ISAFA

Building a more equal world of football

                                 Solveig Roser

                                      Albert-Ludwig-Universität Freiburg, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany

Key words: football, female, equality, participation, society

Introduction

With 270 million practitioners worldwide, football is a world’s sport (FIFA, 2016). To some degree, this popularity involves a responsibility to serve as a role model for society. Nevertheless, football struggles with serious issues such as homophobia, racism and sexism (Thole & Pfaff, 2019). This short article on hand focuses on women’s football. Football is one of the fastest growing sports for women. The FIFA has been counting more than 4,8 million females registered in 2006 and calculates more than 30 million non-registered players. Male superiority is not only the case when it comes to the number of active players but is also about the totals of coaches, referees and women in executive positions. Even though the females’ involvement is increasing, there is still a long way to go (FIFA, 2016). This article aims to give a short view over today’s situation of female players and the inequality of chances when it comes to stepping into and participating in a men-dominated sport. Drawing on results of a recent study within Europe, it tries to discuss methods of resolution to overcome this barrier and to promote female football.

In a comparative study of Scraton, Fasting, Pfister and Bunuel (2018), 40 top-level female football players from four countries (England, Norway, Germany, Spain) had been interviewed. The researchers’ team was able to work out the way women step into the football world and the barriers and issues they are confronted with during their time being active. Moreover Scraton et al. (2018) investigated approaches to increase the number of female players and equalize the chances in comparison to men. In all four included countries, women started playing football at young age between four and eleven years. Their first football experiences took place in informal spaces such as streets and parks in the neighbourhood. Most of the interviewed players reported encouragement through the male parts of their family or their friends. Women from England and Spain named barriers to participate such as limitations at school whereas those from Germany and Norway named a lack of girls’ teams in clubs. This national difference can be explained by the different school systems concerning the integration of sports organisation. All the 40 top-level players reported a problematic impact of the feminine and masculine ideals on their self-perception. Together these results provide important insight into the situation of women in the footballing world. However, further research should be carried on to evaluate the current situation of football opportunities for females and the social response to it.

 How could we help female football?

With the findings of Scraton et al. (2018) in mind, it becomes clear that there are various approaches to work out solutions. One starting point could be the creation of formal opportunities in schools, member associations and communities for females to facilitate the access to football. Furthermore, the male-dominated structures of football associations must open to women’s participation, engagement and employment. The inclusion of women involves a qualification for jobs like coaches and referees and a more balanced allocation of public funds. It is, and it is going to be a huge task for the society to dispose of the stereotypes and change the binary image of the sexes. Working on increasing female participation in football could be an effective way to get other sports on board to lead the society towards a more equalized thinking not only regarding women but also the already mentioned issues such as homophobia and racism. Another key to remember is that the goal isn’t the weakening of male football, but to provide equivalent opportunities for women. To make this work, it needs an all-embracing engagement.

Football is a team sport, what about the society?

Corresponding author:

Solveig Roser

Bachelor of Arts, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg

Email: solveigroser@web.de

References

Fédération Internationale de Football Association. (2016). FIFA Big Count 2006: 270 million people active in football. 23(10).

Fédération Internationale de Football Association. (2016). FIFA Women’s Football Survey 2014. Accessed September 13, 2016.

Scraton, S., Fasting, K., Pfister, G., & Bunuel, A. (2018). It’s Still a Man’s Game? The Experiences of Top-Level European Women Footballers. Female Football Players and Fans, 19-36.

Thole, W., & Pfaff, N. (2019). Im Schatten des Balls. In Fußball als Soziales Feld. Springer VS, Wiesbaden, 3-16.

 


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