This book presents a cross-disciplinary examination of the lived experiences of girls and women football players using theoretical insights from sports studies, psychology, sociology and gender studies. It examines the concept of ‘the football self’ – your own, personal football identity that encapsulates the importance of football to our everyday lives – and what that can tell us about the complex relationships between sport, family, gender and identity. The book draws on in-depth ethnographic research involving players and family members, and offers important new insights into the everyday experiences of those girls and women who play. It breaks new ground in focusing on the significant relationships between player and family with a particular focus on parenting through football. The book brings to the fore key debates around gender identity, barriers to participation, cultural gaps and discrimination. The author also brings a personal perspective to bear, drawing on experience gained over 20 years as a player, adding an extra critical layer to her important empirical research. This is essential reading for all researchers and students with an interest in football, sport studies or issues around gender, inclusion or the family in sport, and fascinating reading for anybody generally curious about football.

*SHORTLISTED FOR THE TELEGRAPH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS* Eni Aluko: 102 appearances for England women's national football team. First female pundit on Match of the Day. UN Women UK ambassador. Guardian columnist. First class honors law degree. Now an inspirational author. They Don't Teach This steps beyond the realms of memoir to explore themes of dual nationality and identity, race and institutional prejudice, success, failure and faith. It is an inspiring manifesto to change the way readers and the future generation choose to view the challenges that come in their life applying life lessons with raw truths of Eni's own personal experience. 'A fascinating examination of her multiple identities - British and Nigerian, a girl in a boy's world, footballer and academic, a kid from an estate with upper-middle-class parents, a God-fearing rebel... Aluko does not hold back - and few people from the football establishment emerge with their reputation intact' Guardian

This volume of essays examines the ways in which sports have become a means for the communication of social identity in the United States. The essays included here explore the question, How is identity engaged in the performance and spectatorship of sports? Defining sports as the whole range of mediated professional sports, and considering actual participation in sports, the chapters herein address a varied range of ways in which sports as a cultural entity becomes a site for the creation and management of symbolic components of identity. Originating in the New Agendas in Communication symposium sponsored by the University of Texas College of Communication, this volume provides contemporary explorations of sports and identity, highlighting the perspectives of up-and-coming scholars and researchers. It has much to offer readers in communication, sociology of sport, human kinetics, and related areas.

In Fathering through Sport and Leisure, an underrepresented and highly topical area of social study is examined. This is a book about fathers, and how we can understand fathers and their fathering practices better if we examine the role of sport and leisure in their relationships with their children and their partners. The author’s clear and interdisciplinary approach makes this volume an invaluable resource for undergraduates and scholars in the fields of leisure studies, family studies, sociology of the family, and the sociology of sport.

This volume draws upon social science and historical approaches to provide insights into the world of women’s football and female fans. It gives an in-depth analysis of the development of the women’s game in different European countries and examines the experiences of female fans. An overview about women’s football in Europe shows the rise and development of the game and the increasing inclusion of girls and women in football and fan communities. To date, there has been a lack of research on female participation in football, but drawing on research studies from various European countries, the volume explores a range of issues, including how girls and women become football fans and players, how women combine football with their everyday lives, and how they may encounter stereotypes and barriers when they challenge male dominance by entering this traditionally male sport. This collection will be of interest to students and scholars in a range of fields, including sports sociology, sport sciences, gender studies, leisure studies, women’s studies as well as fandom and cultural studies.

Introducing the core concepts, issues and debates in the study of gender and sport, this is an accessible, engaging and thought-provoking textbook for anyone studying or interested in sport. It highlights the complexity of the gendered sporting world. Exploring inequalities in society that are reflected in sporting spaces and practices, and offering practical guidance on how to develop study skills and critical thinking, this textbook empowers readers to view the world in a different way. The book explores the social and political aspects of gender, sport and society, as well as their intersection with race/ethnicity, dis/ability, and sexualities. Introducing the basics of gender theory as applied to sport, and placing equity, diversity and inclusion at the heart of the discussion, the book explores key themes, current issues and hot topics, such as women in esports, mental health, and parenthood. The book also looks at how gender and gender stereotypes play out in the world of sport business and management. The reader is asked to co-create the textbook’s narrative by engaging with several pedagogical features, such as ‘stop and think’ and seminar activities, requesting the reader to be an active and critical participant. The compact and considered chapters will help to break down the complexity involved in this subject area. The final chapter is dedicated to study skills and practical learning advice, acting as a study guide to complement the discipline-rich chapters that come before it. This textbook is written from practitioner-educator experience ensuring the content is degree-specific, critically positioned, and most importantly, inclusive and accessible. Full of useful features in every chapter, from subject ‘insights’ to guides on further reading, media links and other sources, as well as example assignment questions, this is an indispensable textbook for all students of gender and sport, women and sport, the sporting body, sport and society, social issues in sport, inclusion in sport, and sport development, and fascinating reading for anyone with an interest in sport, gender studies or sociology more broadly.

"Cultural Sport Psychology is the first full text to offer a complete and authoritative look at this developing field by a diverse group of established and aspiring contributors. As clinicians develop their practice to include more diverse athletes and sport psychologists expand to work in multicultural settings, this text will undeniably spark increased discussion, reflection, and research of cultural considerations in sport psychology practice."--BOOK JACKET.