Tag Archives: Belfast

#Footycon25 Award Winners

The International Football History Conference 2025 was held at Windsor Park Belfast last week and, as usual, we had a panel of judges picking out their best paper awards and an inclusivity award. Competition was fierce and the winners, once again, thoroughly deserved their recognition. The award winners were:

Day One (Friday 13 June 2025) Best Paper: The judges asked if they could make two awards at the end of this day and they selected Tim Mills for his presentation ‘Football & Museums – A model for community led programming’ and Kasey Symons for her presentation on ‘Investigating women’s Australian rules football romance fiction and the history of fandom it tells from the first decade of the AFLW’ (co-authored research with Lee McGowan). Kasey has been a regular attendee at the conference since it was established in 2017 and she has always presented high quality research in an engaging way.

Day Two (Saturday 14 June 2025) Best Paper: Gabriela Ríos-Infante won the award for her presentation on ‘The Philosophy of Women’s Football in Mexico: Interactions Through an Ethnographic Lens in El Volcán’. As well as this being a great research topic and presentation, it was particularly impressive that Gabriela was presenting in English for the first time.

The Inclusivity Award was judged over both days and this went to:

Karen Fraser, Fiona Skillen & Julie McNeill for their panel on ‘A most unsuitable game: Reflections on a community celebration of the women’s game in Scotland.’ Back in 2023 Karen, Fiona and Julie presented about this project at our Hampden Park conference and it was gratifying to see them return with reflections on what was clearly a well-managed, researched and impact-making project.

Congratulations to all winners. These awards are supported by Routledge books and they provided books and vouchers to each winner.

Previous winners of these awards are:

International Football History Conference 2025 @ Belfast

Last week (13 & 14 June 2025) we staged our annual International Football History Conference at Windsor Park, Belfast. It was a great occasion, attended by delegates from across the world and with presentations on football (of all codes) throughout the two days. Belfast was a great, welcoming city and we had a wonderful time. The conference was established almost a decade ago when I first discusssed the idea with colleagues at Manchester Metropolitan University, since then we’ve held the conference annually, starting with our first in Manchester in 2017.

Right at the start my aim was to bring together leading academics, researchers, historians and others passionate about football to discuss in a friendly environment their projects and research.

Since 2017 we’ve staged the conference at Manchester City (4 times), Hampden Park, Cardiff City and at Windsor Park, only taking a pause during the Covid years, We were supposed to stage our 2020 conference at Hibs but sadly that was cancelled and our financial reserves were lost as a result. The conference is self funding and non-profit with none of the organisers taking any payment for their time. It’s always a precarious financial commitment but fortunately, so far, each conference has covered its costs (just!).

We’re now looking for venues to stage the 2026, 2027 & 2028 conferences, so if you are involved with a footballing (again, any code) venue with conference facilities and you feel you can help then please get in touch at footycon@outlook.com.

This was our agenda for 2025 in Belfast to give you a feel for the variety of topics presented:

Women’s Football in Manchester

The history of women’s football in Manchester deserves to be properly recorded. This week I’m presenting at the International Football History conference in Belfast on the teams and communities of women’s footballers that existed in Manchester during the 1950s. People often assume there’s either no women’s football in the city back then or there are one, maybe two teams. My research is identifying that there are many more teams than that and that the community of women playing football in Manchester during the 50s was significantly greater than most believe.

Over the last decade I’ve been interviewing women who played football in Manchester, or for Manchester based teams, during the 1940s to modern years. This includes Maureen Charlton, Dorothy Allcock and Flo Cloake (who played in the 1940s & 50s) and players like Steph Houghton, Karen Bardsley and Jill Scott (who of course played in more recent times). For me the stories of all are inspiring. Many women from Manchester, or based in Manchester, played prominent roles in football’s development during the 50s, 60s, 70s and beyond. Some who played decades ago are still contributing significantly today.

To date I’ve published two books and written many articles, chapters and features for a variety of publications on Manchester’s women’s teams. The latest of these is the book on the Manchester Corinthians. I’m absolutely delighted with this from Matt Williams, a longlist judge for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year 2025 award. He has posted the following video about the Manchester Corinthians book as his ‘What are we reading this week?’ post on social media. It really does please me and demonstrates why I’ve been so keen to get the Corinthians story out there.

For those interested Manchester Corinthians: The Authorised History is a must for anyone interested in Manchester or women’s football and consists of 356 pages. Getting it into Manchester bookshops, particularly Waterstones, is proving difficult so if there’s anyone reading this who can help please get in touch. We can organise events if that helps?

Thanks to everyone who has helped so far to promote the Corinthians and their stories. But we need to bang the drum for all Manchester’s clubs, so please do all you can to spread the word.

I’ll let everyone know more about the other teams, the presentation at the conference and more later. For now… the Corinthians book is illustrated throughout and you can order it now for £25 (including UK postage and packaging). I’ll sign all copies ordered direct from me below.

If you live outside the UK then please contact for details of additional postage costs.

You do not need to have a PayPal account to order – use the ‘Pay with PayPal’ button above and it will give you the option to pay by credit/debit card without creating a PayPal account.

UK ONLY – Manchester Corinthians: The Authorised History

The story of a pioneering women’s club as told to Gary James by those who were there. This will be published in late December 2024. This is UK only at £25 (incl UK postage and packaging). Outside UK contact for additional postage costs.

£25.00

International Football History Conference 2025 at Belfast

The 2025 International Football History Conference will take place at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland and will be held over two days (Friday the 13th & Saturday the 14thof June 2025).

  • Main conference proceedings will take place between 8.30 am and 6 pm on Friday the 13th and Saturday the 14th of June 2025.

As usual we have a wonderful collection of presentations, with leading academics, historians, researchers etc. in their field. Here’s the schedule for both days:

The International Football History Conference is a welcoming community. Cone and join us. This is a self-funding event. All delegates, whether presenting or not,will need to book their place before attending via our Eventbrite page, which can be accessed via this link: https://bit.ly/FootyCon25

Travel & Accommodation

Delegates will need to make their own arrangements regarding travel & accommodation for the conference. The organisers of the conference recommend staying in the city centre. The information below will cover how to reach Belfast City Centre and the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park, the venue for our conference. Further information will be listed in the conference pack released closer to the conference. 

For those flying to Belfast, the city is served by two airports: Belfast International Airport (BFS) and George Best Belfast City Airport (BHD). Bus connections from the international airport to Belfast Grand Central Station, the new transport hub of Belfast City Centre, run every fifteen minutes, and from the city airport to Belfast Grand Central Station every twenty minutes. Rail services to and from Belfast Grand Central will be operational by the time of the conference as train services are currently being transferred from the old stations to the new hub. 

Belfast Grand Central Station is also close to many of Belfast City Centre’s hotel options. Pricing will range from 4* options such as the Europa, Leonardo or Fitzwilliam Hotels (all located on Great Victoria Street, close to the station), to more budget-friendly nearby options such as Benedicts Hotel, Travelodge, easyHotel, Maldron, Premier Inn, etc.

For those driving to the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park, the stadium can be accessed from either Boucher Road or Donegall Avenue. The postcode for your satnav will be BT12 6LW. 

International Football History Conference 2025 at Belfast

The 2025 International Football History Conference will take place at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland and will be held over two days (Friday the 13th & Saturday the 14thof June 2025).

This is a call for papers for those who wish to present at the conference. There will be an opportunity to present on any topic relating to the history of football of all codes. This includes, but is not limited to: Association Football, Rugby Union & Rugby League, Gaelic Football and Aussie Rules. 

  • Main conference proceedings will take place between 8.30 am and 5 pm on Friday the 13th and Saturday the 14th of June 2025.
  • As with previous years, Abstracts are welcomed on any football-related topic (football of ALL codes)
  • Abstracts are welcomed by researchers from any discipline.
  • Presentations must not have appeared at another conference. As our conference does not have parallel sessions, we insist that presentations must not repeat 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: 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.

If you wish to present at the conference, please send a 100-to-150-word proposal to footycon@outlook.com by the 6th of January 2025. The selection of presentations will take place by the organising committee and We will ensure confirmation as soon as possible, particularly for those travelling some distance.

Cost of Attendance

The International Football History Conference is a self-funding event. All delegates, whether presenting or not,will need to book their place before attending via our Eventbrite page, which can be accessed via this link: https://bit.ly/FootyCon25

The cost of attendance for full-time delegates will be kept at the 2023 and 2024 conference rates. 

Full Delegate (2 days):  £139. 

Students/unwaged/retired delegates (2 Days): £129

Special Day Rate: £76 (employed) & £67.50 (unwaged/Students/retired)

Travel & Accommodation

Delegates will need to make their own arrangements regarding travel & accommodation for the conference. The organisers of the conference recommend staying in the city centre. The information below will cover how to reach Belfast City Centre and the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park, the venue for our conference. Further information will be listed in the conference pack released closer to the conference. 

For those flying to Belfast, the city is served by two airports: Belfast International Airport (BFS) and George Best Belfast City Airport (BHD). Bus connections from the international airport to Belfast Grand Central Station, the new transport hub of Belfast City Centre, run every fifteen minutes, and from the city airport to Belfast Grand Central Station every twenty minutes. Rail services to and from Belfast Grand Central will be operational by the time of the conference as train services are currently being transferred from the old stations to the new hub. 

Belfast Grand Central Station is also close to many of Belfast City Centre’s hotel options. Pricing will range from 4* options such as the Europa, Leonardo or Fitzwilliam Hotels (all located on Great Victoria Street, close to the station), to more budget-friendly nearby options such as Benedicts Hotel, Travelodge, easyHotel, Maldron, Premier Inn, etc.

For those driving to the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park, the stadium can be accessed from either Boucher Road or Donegall Avenue. The postcode for your satnav will be BT12 6LW. 

Historic Name That Ground – Week 34 Answer

Did you recognise this ground? On Monday I asked: ‘Can you name the ground featured in the image above? This is a 1950s photo of this ground, mostly one of its floodlights. The floodlights at this venue were quite distinctive. The ground remains a major sporting venue today, although the floodlights disappeared in the 2010s during a major renovation.’

The answer is Windsor Park, Belfast.

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