A goal worth
The nation’s football assets can extend our global influence and energise our economy, writes Grant Jarvie
Nothing quickens the hearts of football lovers quite like goals – which is why ambitious targets, set out this week by the Scottish game’s governing body, have set my pulses racing.
The Scottish Football Association has written to all political parties ahead of the May elections to highlight our national game’s unique ability to improve lives and connect communities; to act as a hub for learning and innovation; and to be a champion of sustainability and green technology. You don’t have to be a fan of the beautiful game to applaud their ambitions. The impact of this could be huge. The next Scottish government has an opportunity to help our most popular sport inspire the nation, reach more people, more often, and in more places. It can also empower the game to become a gathering place for invention, technology and knowledge exchange, advancing Scotland’s influence on the world stage.
As the men’s national team gets ready to contest the finals of a major tournament for the first time in 23 years, the timing could hardly be better. Think of that wave of post-qualification euphoria and you catch a sense of football’s ability to unite and inspire. Scotland’s women’s team – currently 23 places higher in the world rankings than their male counterparts – have similarly galvanised hearts and minds.
Football, for all its flaws, has been an anchor of support in Scotland’s areas of multiple deprivation. Poverty and inequality are at the heart of Scotland’s health and well-being challenges. The low level of sports participation has been widely documented, but the important thing is to do something about it and football is playing its part. We should not forget the power of sport as a force for good and, in Scotland, football is by far the most popular vehicle for this.
Only last week, the SFA held talks with clubs across the men’s and women’s game to eradicate racism from the sport. Representatives from clubs across Scotland joined a series of virtual forums that debated and
consulted on ways in which Scottish football can implement a coordinated strategy to tackle abuse on the field of play and online. There’s a determination to make football accessible to all. Last year, the SFA launched the world’s first National Para Football Association, which will bring nine different organisations governing various styles of Para-football in Scotland under one national umbrella. The nine organisations within Scottish Para-football represent a variety of styles, including Amputee Football, Deaf Football, Frame Football and Learning Disability Football,autism Football,.
These initiatives demonstrate a strong commitment to equality and inclusion, but it shouldn’t stop there, That’s why the SFA wants the next Scottish Government to commit to a partnership approach with the Scottish FA to use the power of football– to inspire a healthier Scotland. This partnership should extend across all cabinet portfolios and include twoway communication and activation to promote and improve equality and education in all aspects of health and well-being.
The SFA also wants football to be for all, and for free – by removing the cost barrier and allowing our children to enjoy the sport’s many benefits by creating a free football voucher scheme.
Lastly, the Association would like to see Hampden Park – the home of
Scottish football – become a hub for excellence. It’s calling on the next government to support a modernisation programme that would see Hampden become an elite sporting campus and a centre for learning excellence, community benefit and technological advancement.
Football’s mass appeal can make this happen. The Scottish game already delivers more than £1 billion of social return on investment and, with its unparalleled cultural significance and reach, it can become a key enabling partner in raising our aspirations regionally, nationally and internationally. Two years ago, a major review of Scotland’s sporting landscape, which I chaired, recommended Scotland should catch up with what is going on internationally and take the lead in the UK by developing the potential of sport as a soft power asset to advance Scotland’s influence. We’ve seen this happen elsewhere – Australia with its 2030 sports diplomacy strategy, the US with its Sports United programmes and China with its so-called sports stadium diplomacy. Closer to home, France has embarked on its the hugely ambitious Sport En Commun intervention, which uses sport as a key driver of economic and social development in Africa.
The SFA are ahead of the game in Scotland by asking politicians of all parties to fully recognise football’s influence and help extend its already considerable reach.scotland is a small nation with a large football footprint. It has a set of football assets that can extend our influence and energise our economy.
The global marketplace for sports coaching platforms is expected to grow by £12.7 billion by 2023. The reconstruction of Camp Nou will allow FC Barcelona Infrastructure to incorporate a more attractive performance and educational offering through its Barça Innovation Hub. Scotland can be a key player too, rather than a spectator.
One of the lessons of Covid-19 is that clubs, organisations, and stadium owners have all had to rethink the world of fan engagement. Advances in sports technology, green technology and the development of capable stadiums are all part of this future. The vision for Hampden sees it as a gathering place not just for great sporting spectacles but for innovation, education and knowledge exchange.
The SFA’S offer to inspire a nation is not just about on-pitch performance but so much more and the body should be supported as it seeks to harness football’s energy and dynamism to win friends and influence – not just matches – for the good of us all.