Soccerama

Tickets (Book your free place for 12th July and 13th July)

Featuring guests from across the world of football, media and academia and hosted across two evenings at Liverpool’s Central Library, Soccerama is a symposium to explore football through a new lens. Via a series of conversations and debates, Soccerama will unpick football’s interwoven relationship with the key global debates of our times.

Join us to explore some of the fundamental questions facing football today; How healthy and sustainable is football’s newfound wealth? What is its long-term impact on the game? Has the sport become divorced from its original social fabric? What role can fans play in shaping the game’s future? What can we learn from history when exploring the manner in which states look to utilise football as a tool of nationalism?

Thursday 12th July (7pm) – FOOTBALL: THE NOT-SO BEAUTIFUL GAME – BOOK NOW
Football has changed almost unrecognisably in recent times with unimaginable riches concentrated within the upper echelons of the sport. The impact of this on the relationship between clubs and their traditional, working class supporter base has been huge. English football has been exposed to forces of global capital in a unique way and, at the same time, states around the world seek to utilise the sport both at home and abroad as a vital platform through which to shape their own national personas.

Friday 13th July (7pm) – FROM OUTSIDE THE BOX – BOOK NOW
Whether it be within attitudes or action around race, gender, sexuality – or any other notion of ‘difference’ – Football has a chequered history and often uncomfortable present. The forward strides around racism in the UK are still often found wanting and attitudes in other parts of Europe show the distance yet to travel. The #MeToo movement has shone a light on the huge gender imbalance within the sport and the systemic challenges facing female fans and players alike. And the fact that football is unable to foster an environment in which it is possible to both play the game professionally and be open about one’s sexuality is a damming verdict on the culture within the sport we all love.

Yet despite these challenges, football presents a unique opportunity to engage and galvanise people, bring about real social change and challenge societal prejudices head on. From running food banks to tackling homelessness, fan groups and some clubs alike provide huge support to their local communities, acting as a true power for social change.