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Despite the latest technology making them more effective than ever, artificial pitches still have a major image problem in professional football. If you’re of a certain age, you will remember the awful pitches at Luton and QPR, which deliver unpredictable bounces and some serious leg burns. Today, however, 4G pitches are safe and very playable; and more importantly, they’re durable...

Football in China is still in its infancy, but it has already made waves around the World. Chinese multi-billionaires are funding a huge expansion in the game, bringing stars like Carlos Tevez and Oscar to the Chinese Super League. But while the high-profile transfers make the headlines, it is the work going on at the grassroots level that is most...

In this age of billionaire owners and multi-millionaire players, football is being accused of losing its identity with increasing frequency. Young people can’t access quality coaching, fans can’t afford to attend top-flight games and the gap between the haves and have-nots continues to widen. But the essence of the beautiful game never changes. Football has the power to bring people...

For far too long, grassroots match officials have been subjected to the most abhorrent abuse. On pitches and playing fields across the country, these unpaid heroes are the only people standing between successful community leagues and the total collapse of grassroots football. In order to protect the next generation of stars, and ensure they have the pathway to the big...

There was a time when Boys’ Clubs in the UK were a hotbed of footballing talent. Around England, small talent hotspots would spit out an almost continuous flow of talent — much of which ended up being integral to the England national team. The likes of Huyton, Longsight and Wallsend developed some of the most talented English footballers of the...

According to the NHS, a growing number of four and five-year-olds in the UK as being classified as officially obese. Nearly 10 percent of these children were classed as obese in 2016. And as children get older, the problem gets worse. A shocking 20 percent of children aged between 10 and 11 were clinically obese in 2016. There are many...

Shin pads are now mandatory at most levels of the footballing pyramid. When they were first introduced, they were relatively primitive. Now, however, the modern shin guard uses a range of new technologies to deliver maximum protection and mobility. It is believed that shin pads were first worn by footballers in 1874. Sam Weller Widdowson was a keen Nottinghamshire cricketer...

The FA has been under intense pressure to improve grassroots football in England for many years now. The game’s governing body has launched a raft of initiatives to address issues such as pitch quality, amenities, coaching standards and player behaviour. But are any of these measures actually working? Participation levels at the community level of the game are still falling...

Earlier this year a non-binding vote of no confidence in the House of Commons sent a clear message to the Football Association: reform, or we’ll do it for you. While this wasn’t the first time the game’s governing body has come to blows with the UK government, the unprecedented step of threatening legislation will have reverberated down the corridors of...

The level of abuse being aimed at football officials up and down the country has been growing for some time. While the FA’s Respect campaign has succeeded in tackling the issue up to a point, there still remains a major problem. Our referees at the grassroots level are pretty much on their own every Saturday and Sunday morning. Without the...