Abuse scandal set

The man whose harrowing testimony of being sexually abused by a youth coach sparked an ongoing crisis in English soccer wants to take the issue to a global level. “I can’t even begin to give you the numbers of people contacting me directly, not just footballers and ex-footballers but members of the public,” Andy Woodward said yesterday. “It’s everywhere.” If he’s not too weary by the sheer scale of the scandal he helped to uncover, Woodward will fly to New York tomorrow to speak to an American broadcaster about his 30-year journey from abused youth player to an inspiration to millions. “I personally know that in America, there are certain things which have potentially happened there,” Woodward said. “It’s just about reaching out to everyone.” Woodward was the first of a growing list of former soccer players to go public over the past three weeks about the ordeal they went through as youngsters.

The effect has been bigger than they could ever have imagined.

About 450 people have reported incidents of child sexual abuse at soccer clubs to 18 British police forces. A hotline set up by a children’s charity in response to sex abuse claims has taken about 1000 calls in little more than a week. At least 55 clubs, professional and amateur, have been implicated in the story.

On Sunday, Chelsea – current leaders of the English Premier League – apologised to a former player who was sexually abused while a member of the club’s youth team and who was paid £50,000 (NZ$108,000) to keep the matter out of the public domain.

The English Football Association has started an internal review to reexamine its response to convictions of soccer coaches in the 1990s.

All this because Woodward was brave enough, after decades of anguish and soul-searching, to break his silence.