Young people in Lincolnshire have shared their thoughts in grassroots football in our region following the Big Football Ask Survey.

Lincolnshire FA have conducted a survey across the county to enable young people to share their thoughts of the behaviour from coaches, players, and spectators.

The survey was specifically for all youth participants in football across Lincolnshire, to give us a really focused and contextualised view on behaviour and conduct - from the eyes of young people in our area.

The survey is aimed at all youth participants in football aged between 7 to 18, regardless or role (player, coach, referee, volunteer, etc.).

The questions have been pulled together by both Lincolnshire FA's Designated Safeguarding Officer, Ben Pearce, and the Lincolnshire FA Youth Council.

The report has shown that 92% of players in the 7-12 age range continue to enjoy playing football, however the older age range of 13-18 recognises the issue of match behaviours from spectators and coaches, affecting their overall experience of the game.

Only 1 in 3 of 13–18-year-olds believe that the behaviour in football is as good as other sports, with almost half of 7–12-year-olds believe the behaviour in football is as good as other sports.

87% of the younger age ranges believed that language was directed to the players themselves, but 37% of older age ranges see the language directed towards the match officials.

More than 1 in 4 of 7–12-year-olds felt that touchline behaviour ‘could get better’. 45% of 13–18-year-olds described adult conduct as ‘inconsistent’.

The full key findings are below:

• 92% of 7-12 year olds enjoy playing football.
• 90% of 7-12 year olds see 'taking part' or 'time with my teammates' as the main drivers for playing football. 
• 46% of 7-12 year olds think that ‘enjoyment’ is the most important thing to their club, and 53% feel a ‘combination of enjoyment, winning & competition’ are the most important things to their club.
• The 3 most chosen adjectives, when asked to describe the adults involved in their football from 7–12-year-olds were: Positive – Helpful - Kind
• When describing their teammates, 7–12-year-olds selected the same adjectives as the most common, but there was a rise in the adjectives; negative, angry, and unkind, being selected. 
• Only 42% of 13–18-year-olds described adult conduct and behaviour in football as ‘positive’.
• 45% of 13–18-year-olds described adult conduct and behaviour in football as ‘inconsistent’.
• When describing their teammates, the selection of the word ‘positive’ increased to 45% and selection of the word ‘inconsistent’ dropped very slightly to 44%. 
• 87% of 7–12-year-olds felt that adults mainly directed their language to players during a game. 
• However, only 56% of 13–18-year-olds felt that adults directed their language towards players during a game. This is because 37% of them, felt that adults directed their language towards the referee during their games.
• Only 48% of 7–12-year-olds think that behaviour in football is as good as other sports. This figure drops to only 26% across 13–18-year-olds. 
• One in three 13–18-year-olds feel that behaviour in football is not as good as other sports.
• 28% of 7–12-year-olds felt that adult behaviour in their game ‘could get better’. 
• When given the opportunity to express their views in a text response 31% of 13–18-year-olds gave a solely positive response. 30% of them gave a solely negative response.
• Within the negative responses 48% of them, made specific reference to poor adult conduct in their game.
• Within the negative responses 31% of them, made specific reference to poor parent & spectator conduct in their game. 

One player in the survey said: “I actually like the silent weekends the best because the parents have to be quiet, and we can just enjoy playing without being constantly shouted at to, do this or do that.

It also allows the referee to just manage the game as he sees it rather than every decision being met with parents shouting at them and criticising. I will be stopping playing at the end of this season as I just haven’t enjoyed it like I used to, and a lot of that is due to parents constantly shouting.”

One player shared a more positive experience and said: “The conduct I've experienced is overall positive, with only a few outliers. They are all respectful and understanding, only talking to players on their team, congratulating them or giving advice, never shouting or scolding”.

Ben Pearce, Designated Safeguarding Officer at Lincolnshire FA, said following the report: “I am really pleased and proud of the response volume and detail from our recent Big Football Ask survey.

The youth football community of Lincolnshire has spoken, and we need to listen and act where we can. Children never cease to amaze us in the clarity and pertinence they provide when asked their opinion.

It is clear that children in Lincolnshire love their football and want to enjoy their footballing experience with friends and family alike.

Sadly, a concerning proportion of them can make specific references to poor adult conduct in their game and we need to firstly accept this, but secondly take responsibility to put it right and challenge where appropriate. Football is a game for all, and must remain that way.”

For more information or queries about the Big Football Ask, please contact Ben Pearce at Ben.Pearce@lincolnshirefa.com.

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