Abstract

Football has become a popular participation sport for women and girls in the UK; however the research surrounding females and football has yet to move beyond an understanding of individual identity and gender construction. Further to this, research on youth studies has overlooked the importance of family relationships to young people over the past two decades (Wyn, Lantz & Harris, 2011). Therefore, in order to address the paucity of literature connected to these two areas, this current paper will examine the relationship between female footballer and family. An ethnographic approach has been adopted to explore the stories of female footballers at school, in the club and within the family home. Employing a kaleidoscopic view of gender (Spade & Valentine, 2008), this paper investigates the shifting and dynamic social intersections linked to the complex relationships that exist between gender, football and family.