TO SUPPORT CLUBS IN THE DISCUSSION OF BULLYING IN FOOTBALL

W HY DO CHILDREN PLAY FOOTBALL ? I want to win the league My friends play football It keeps me fit It’s fun Trying hard I want to be a professional footballer I want to be in a team Winning Trophies Meeting new people What do you think our children prioritise?

T EAM WORK, F RIENDSHIP, FUN !

W HAT IS B ULLYING Are these acts bullying A player kicks out at another during a training session after a tackle A player seems to push another player to the floor as he leaves the training area. You see a player has fallen, one child is standing over him laughing and pointing it out to others. A player gets new boots and his friend says “those boots are gay!” When selecting team mates for small group work the captain never selects Jai. You hear a player telling the rest of the team a personal story to team mates about a player who is not at the game.

W HAT IS BULLYING A parent shouts at and berates his child at a fixture during a difficult game A coach tells a player he can’t play because of his appearance A coach takes an U12 player aside and tells her she will never play a full game because he is not good enough A coach uses bad language in front of the children A coach uses sarcasm and jokes at the expense of the children in front of other parents/club officials An opposition parent encourages fouling by her child and teammates

W HAT IS B ULLYING Physical Hitting Kicking Pinching Punching Scratching Spitting Damage to belongings Any other form of physical attack Verbal Name calling Insults Teasing Threats Hurtful jokes Racist, homophobic, disabilist, sexist language Sexually suggestive or abusive language o Relational or Indirect Spreading rumours Excluding a person Disclosing secrets Intimidation

W HAT IS B ULLYING ? Anti-Bullying Alliance definition of bullying “The repetitive, intentional hurting of one person or group by another person or group, where the relationship involves an imbalance of power. Bullying can be physical, verbal or psychological. It can happen face-to-face or through cyberspace.”

N OTES FOR C LUBS AND W ELFARE O FFICERS Slides 2/3 When ask to sort prioritise the vast majority of children (regardless of age) arrange the reason to play as on slide 3 (or an elongated version) with the Winning trophies, professional footballer and winning league as the lowest three. When adults are asked to list priorities (either there own, or what they think the children prioritise) give greater emphasis to the winning element. Discussion with coaches should be based around raising awareness of the thoughts and needs of the children. Slides 4/5 The scenarios are all things that we would not like to see in football, but are all deliberately open ended to instigate discussion. Slide 4 should encourage discussion that leads towards the understanding that if these behaviours are repeated, or combined with other similar actions, they can be indicative of bullying. Discussion should also lead to an understanding of the need to record such incidents and to report/communicate concerns Slide 5 should be used with coaches to question there behaviour and the behaviour of adults. All of the scenarios are unacceptable and once again if these behaviours are repeated, or combined with other similar actions, they can be indicative of bullying and abuse. Slide 6/7 Should be used alongside 4/5 to help coaches understand that all of the scenarios could be bullying. It is worth emphasising the relational or indirect section as often people are unaware that this can be bullying. For any other support required to deliver the above please give me a call.