Football Apprenticeships in England

This book examines the vocational socialisation processes that young people must undertake in order to be offered a full time contract by an English professional football club. Aspiring young footballers often make speculative decisions about career choice during the years which Ginsberg described as the fantasy period. This work looks at early career choice and also the factors that influence an aspiring elite performer. After surveying recent developments within professional football at youth level, a case study of an English football league club draws upon documents, interviews, privileged insider observation, and a sustained qualitative and ethnographic study of the socialisation process into the incipient occupational culture. The findings identify the conditions of habitus for a professional footballer, the changing dimensions to social class within the game and the effects recent changes have had on clubs and young players hoping to enter professional football as a career. This book should interest sports academics and parents wishing to gain an in-depth understanding of the English professional game at youth level.