Category Archives: Academic Writing

International Football History Conference

30 June – 1 July 2023

***CFP Deadline 3 April***

The 2023 annual International Football History Conference will take place at Hampden Park, Glasgow, G42 9BA and will be held over two days (30 June and 1 July 2023).

This is a call for papers to be presented at the conference. There will be an opportunity to present on any topic relating to the history of football of all codes.

  • Main conference proceedings will take place between 8.30am and 5pm on Friday and Saturday.
  • As with previous years the conference will be open to those presenting on football of any code.
  • Abstracts are welcomed on any football related topic (football of ALL codes)
  • Abstracts are welcomed from researchers from any discipline.
  • Presentations must not have appeared at another conference. As our conference does not have parallel sessions, we are insistent that presentations must not be a repeat of something presented elsewhere.

Abstracts for the following presentation styles are welcomed:

Short Form (7 minutes) – 20 slides (plus a title slide) with a maximum of 20 seconds per slide. Ideal for a summary of research; to present early findings; Image related research etc.

Twenty Minutes – Those choosing a 20 minute slot will be able to split that time between presentation and questions as they feel appropriate (for example 15 minutes of presentation and 5 minutes of questions or 20 minutes presentation and no audience questions).

Panel – One hour twenty minutes: three presenters and a moderator on a related theme with specific time for individual presentations within the session agreed by the moderator including allowance for questions at the end to the group.

To apply to present please send a 100 to 150 word proposal to footycon@outlook.com by Monday 3rd April 2023. Selection of presentations will take place by the committee by 30th April. We will ensure confirmation is as soon as possible.

COST OF ATTENDANCE  

The conference is self-funding and all delegates whether presenting or not will need to book their place before attending. It is anticipated that the cost of attendance for full-time delegates will be £139 and for students/unwagedl/retired delegates: £129

Special Day Rate: £75 (employed) & £65 (unwaged)

Tickets will be on sale soon.

Delegates will need to make their own arrangements regarding travel & accommodation for the conference. It is suggested delegates stay in city centre hotels but further information will be available by the end of April.

Scandals, Investigations… We’ve Been Here Before!

‘The punishment was the largest ever inflicted, wiping out an entire team, its directors and one of the most charismatic managers of the period.’

‘The League met and representatives of each club voted in favour of the punishment meted out to us being enforced. And while their representatives were passing this pious resolution most of them had other representatives busy trying to persuade the “villains whose punishment had been so well deserved” to sign for them under conditions very much better in most cases than the ones we had been ruled by at Hyde Road.’

These quotes are connected with investigations into Manchester City over 100 years ago when the FA considered the Blues to be a ‘nouveau riche’ club despite incredible support etc. Back then certain clubs who were regarded as the aristocracy of football (that included Aston Villa and Everton back then) were somewhat dissatisfied that Manchester City had come from foundation as MCFC in 1894 to FA Cup winners and League runners up within a decade. Lots of investigations followed with some determined to kill off this challenger. This all sound familiar? Well 118 years ago the largest punishment ever inflicted, wiping out an entire team, its directors and one of the most charismatic managers of the period was imposed on the club.

Below for subscribers is a 4,500 word article written on the topic by me. This is an academic piece, focusing on the facts and was written for an academic publication, not something club specific. The article considers the investigation, the ban and its long terms impact on Manchester football, where Manchester City’s first golden era came to an end but Manchester United’s first golden era followed. A truly transformational period in Manchester’s football story and essential reading for anyone looking at precedents or wanting to understand how football in the city was shaped.

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Manchester’s First Major Trophy Success

It’s the return of the FA Cup tonight with Manchester United facing Everton. It’s always worth reminding ourselves of the significance of the FA Cup to Manchester and the story of Manchester’s first major trophy success. The captain and goalscorer of the first triumph by Manchester in 1904 was the great Billy Meredith. In 2021 following the purchase of the oldest surviving FA Cup by Sheikh Mansour (to loan to the National Football Museum) I helped Manchester City with the story of the cup and its significance to Manchester. They’ve produced a video telling the story and it can be viewed here:

https://www.mancity.com/citytv/mens/manchesters-first-trophy-1904-fa-cup-documentary-63745781

For more on the significance of this FA Cup trophy check out the category 1903-04 in the drop down list below.

Frank Swift

On this day in 1913: Frank Swift was born. Here for subscribers is a detailed article I wrote on Swift a few years back: Swift, Frank Victor (1913-1958), footballer and journalist was born in Blackpool, Lancashire on 26 December 1913, the second son of five children.  From his earliest memories, he was always obsessed with the game of football, playing at every opportunity with his brothers, one of whom, Fred, became first team goalkeeper for a variety of clubs, most notably Blackpool, Oldham Athletic and Bolton Wanderers.

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Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It’s £20 for an annual subscription or £3 per month (cancel anytime, see below).

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Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It’s £3 per month (cancel anytime) or £20 for an annual subscription (above).

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International Football History Conference 2023

I’m delighted to announce that the 2023 International Football History Conference will be staged at Hampden Park, Glasgow on 30 June and 1 July 2023. The call for papers and details of how to get involved will be announced in January but here are a few details for those interested in getting the date in their diaries….

The aim of this conference is to listen to quality research and to network with others.  We hope delegates take the opportunity to meet with colleagues, friends and other delegates to share your research, hear their ideas and help establish a strong network of football (of all types!) researchers and experts.

The most recent conference was held in Manchester in November 2022 and it owes its success this year to all delegates whether presenting or not, and to the following who have provided great support:

City Football Group & Routledge

We would also like to put on record our thanks to British Society of Sports History for their support during Covid when the BSSH funded a zoom licence which allowed us to have a couple of gatherings online.

Rouledge have provided vouchers for a ‘Best Paper Award’ each year and their support has helped enormously.

Following feedback and the support of Richard McBrearty and the Scottish National Football Museum we will be able to take the conference to Glasgow for the first time in 2023. Provisional details are:

  • Main conference anticipated to be held Friday 30th June through to Saturday 1st July, with main conference proceedings taking place between 8am and 6pm on those days.
  • As with previous years the conference will be open to those presenting on football of any code. This is a fundamental element of the conference, so if you’re looking for somewhere to present your years of research into gaelic football, Aussie rules or other form of the game then look no further.
  • The call for papers will be issued in January. We are particularly keen to have panel debates/discussions next year, as well as traditional presentations. If you’ve got an idea for a debate/discussion you’d like to arrange then please email footycon@outlook.com and we’ll see if it can be accommodated.
  • To get a feel for the range of topics covered have a look at the schedule for Manchester 2022 at the end of this article (after images of Hampden).

In addition to any debate suggestions, presentations in the following formats will be welcomed:

Short Form (7 minutes) – 20 slides (plus a title slide) with a maximum of 20 seconds per slide.. Ideal for a summary of research; to present early findings; Image related research etc.

Twenty Minutes – Twenty minutes of slides but no audience questions.

Fifteen plus Five – Fifteen minutes of presentation slides plus five minutes of questions (or any combination up to a maximum of twenty minutes).

Follow @footycon for further information.

If anyone would like to contribute to the conference (in terms of organisational support both in the build-up to 2023 and at the conference itself) then please let us know as soon as possible. The more volunteers, the better the conference. Also, financial support is always useful in helping to keep the costs for delegates down. If you are involved with an organisation who can provide some support then please get in touch. Or if you feel you may be able to add value in some way then we are keen to hear from you.

See you in Glasgow, 30th June & 1st July 2023!

Here’s the schedule for the Manchester 2022 conference (you can search on twitter to see images from the conference with #Footycon22 ):

International Football History Conference 18-19 November 2022 at Manchester City’s CFA

In 2017 the first International Football History Conference was staged with delegates from across the globe presenting and listening to talks by a variety of academics, writers, researchers and students. This has become an annual event, only paused bu Covid, and it returns on Friday this week. The conference is open to presentations on football of all codes.

There are presentations on a variety of topics. Here’s this year’s schedule:

You can book your place at the conference via this link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/international-football-history-conference-18-19-november-2022-at-manchester-tickets-397198690977?lang=en-gb&locale=en_GB&status=30&view=listing

Alternative Sites of Sports History – Free Download October 2022

Recently an academic article of mine offering advice and examples to those researching sports history or working within the industry was published. Normally, it is behind an academic paywall but you can download it for free during October here (it’s free, you may as well have a look):

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17460263.2022.2117731?src=

The article has received publicity in publications/websites of football clubs including Middlesbrough and Manchester City. Here’s what City have said:

https://www.mancity.com/news/club/sport-in-history-academic-journal-manchester-city-63800643

British Society Of Sports History 40th Anniversary

The British Society of Sports History (BSSH) is a tremendous body of academics and historians who research, promote and progress the role of history within sport. I have been a member for many years and recently, to celebrate their 40th anniversary, I was asked to write an article offering advice, ideas & more to those researching sport history. The article has recently been published and can be downloaded here for free (follow the link below):

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17460263.2022.2117731?src=

In the article I talk of the great work being done by several historians, including Tosh Warwick and Tony Collins, and sports clubs. I talk about research into women’s football at Manchester City and the club’s badge redesign project.

It will only be free to download for the month of October, so get it while you can. Thanks to the BSSH for giving me this opportunity.

You can find out more about the BSSH and what they do here:

https://www.sportinhistory.org

International Football History Conference 18-19 November 2022 (Manchester) Call For Papers

***CFP Deadline extended to Friday 9th September***

After a two year absence due to Covid, the 2022 annual International Football History Conference will take place at the City Football Academy, Manchester City Football Club, Manchester M11 3FF, England and will be held over two days (18 and 19 November 2022).

This is a call for papers to be presented at the conference. There will be an opportunity to present on any topic relating to the history of football of all codes. 

  • – Main conference proceedings will take place between 8.30am and 5pm on Friday and Saturday.
  • – As with previous years the conference will be open to those presenting on football of any code. 
  • – Abstracts are welcomed on any football related topic (football of ALL codes)
  • –Abstracts are welcomed from researchers from any discipline.
  • –Presentations must not have appeared at another conference. As our conference does not have parallel sessions, we are insistent that presentations must not be a repeat of something presented elsewhere.

Abstracts for the following presentation styles are welcomed:

  • – Short Form (7 minutes) – 20 slides (plus a title slide) with a maximum of 20 seconds per slide. Ideal for a summary of research; to present early findings; Image related research etc.
  • – Twenty Minutes – Twenty minutes of slides but no audience questions.
  • – Fifteen plus Five – Fifteen minutes of presentation slides plus five minutes of questions.
  • – Panel – One hour twenty minutes: three presenters and a moderator on a related theme with specific time for individual presentations within the session agreed by the moderator including allowance for questions at the end to the group.

100 to 150 word proposals should be sent to footycon@outlook.com by 9th September 2022. Selection of presentations will take place by the committee by 15th September. As the timescales between announcement of the conference and the date of the conference we will ensure confirmation is as soon as possible. 

***Please note: As the Rugby League World Cup Finals (women’s & men’s) will be staged at Old Trafford on Saturday 19th we will, for the first time, try to satisfy specific requests to present on a particular day. When submitting your abstract can you say whether you have a preference for Friday, Saturday or no preference please? Thanks.

COST OF ATTENDANCE  

For full-time delegates: £119

For students/unwagedl/retired delegates: £99

Special Day Rate: £65 (employed) & £55 (unwaged)

Due to the current economic climate we have been keen to ensure the cost to delegates is kept at previous levels. We have managed to keep rates at the same level as in 2018 & 2019. Tickets will be on sale via Eventbrite soon.

Delegates will need to make their own arrangements regarding travel & accommodation for the conference. It is suggested delegates stay in city centre hotels, close to the tram network and travel to the venue each day via tram. If you would like some advice on where to stay please contact the organising committee via footycon@outlook.com

Historical Frameworks and Sporting Research

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