The FA shows some Respect
Tuesday 2 June
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Beverley Ward and Ed Coan, marketing managers at The Football Association, visited Redhouse Lane's London office to tell guests at the latest Talk Tuesday seminar about The FA's successful multimedia Respect programme.
The aim of the campaign - for which Redhouse Lane designed the interactive guide that launched in March - is to stamp out verbal and physical abuse at all levels of football, from grass roots to professional leagues.
Particularly, The FA hopes the campaign will improve behaviour among parents, whose enthusiasm on the sidelines can develop into bullying of both children and referees.
Last season, 7,000 referees left the game - more than one-fifth of the UK's total - and children are dropping out of their local teams because there is too much pressure to win from coaches and parents.
"We want to keep people playing the game in a safe, enjoyable environment," explained Beverley at the Talk Tuesday session. "We researched 37,000 people, from young kids to referees, to find out how to go about that and were surprised that their top priority was sorting out behavioural issues in the game.
Too often, passion spills over into aggression, added Ed. "There's something about football - a red mist forms. But people will end up killing the game they love if youngsters and referees continue to pull out.
"We come at this not only from a football angle, but also from the child's viewpoint. Who wants to get abuse from their own parents? There could be a Steven Gerrard out there that will never meet his potential, because children are being put off at the age of nine or ten."
The FA wanted to deliver a campaign in tune with parents, something that was real and interactive, and highlighted bad practice and the effects on the child.
The Respect guide includes short film scenes of a father aggressively encouraging his son before, during and after the match, as well as voiceovers imagining the child's perception of events.
There are also interviews with football experts such as Sir Trevor Brooking and Stuart Pearce, who give their responses to the situation.
Ultimately aiming to drive 75,000 parents to adopt the Respect Parent Guide this year, the campaign has already attracted significant interest. GMTV profiled the campaign and trailed the item heavily at peak advert slots in the days before, 570 grass roots leagues have bought in, there have been 10,000 unique visits to the Parent Guide website and two million people have watched a powerful new viral starring Ray Winstone.
To access the Respect Guide, log on to www.thefa.com/respectguide/
