Arsenal fans are right to be angry: The Gentrification of Football

I was recently close to Arsenal’s stadium and I made a few observations about the demographic of their supporters. I could not help but notice how different it was to my own experiences of football fandom as it was clearly skewed to a wealthy clientele rather than the more traditional predominantly working class fan culture I myself am used to.   

This also coincided with hearing about growing discontent amongst Arsenal fans over the management of Arsenal by Arsene Wenger, accumulating with Wenger being abused at a train station in Stoke. I agree with Arsenal fans that they have a lot to be angry about but it shouldn't be at their lack of defenders or holding midfielders. It should be at their board for gentrifying their club out of all recognition. 

 

After doing some research on how the pricing structure of Arsenal had changed over the years, even I was shocked with what I found out. Back in 1990 it would cost £5 a ticket to watch Arsenal play.  Fast forward to today and it will cost you around £50 to watch the same club play. If football had followed the rate of inflation across the rest of the economy over the same period then the tickets should cost £8.86. In my opinion Arsenal fans and the footballing community should be very angry about this. However, momentum on the issue is starting build. I would recommend that every fan joins the Football Supporters Federation and join the campaign for fairer prices. It is time for football fans to get political.

www.fsf.org.uk

#AllTogetherNow

I'm supporting #AllTogetherNow for #XmasNo1

#AllTogetherNow marking the centenary of the 1914 WW1 Christmas truce. Released 15/12 in aid of @BritishRedCross & @shorncliffe95th - Text GET PEACE to 84222 - Buy it here http://j.mp/buypeace 

#Podcast 3

Hi all,

In the third installment of the Give My Goals to a better World Podcast I discuss:  Hereford United, Palestine, protests in sport, football ultras and much more.

I hope you find it interesting.

Richard

Download Podcast 3

#Podcast 2

Hi all,

In the second instalment of the Give My Goals to a better World Podcast I discuss: Malky MacKay, Dave Whelan, Ched Evans, FIFA sponsorship issues and much more.

I hope you find it interesting.

Richard

Download Podcast 2

Give My Goals to a Better World Podcast

Hi all,

Below you can find my first ever podcast. It's a bit of a ramble for which I apologise. In this episode I discuss the weeks news in Sports and Politics including global sporting mega events, football fan resistance, Ched Evans and the Dalai Lama.

There are one or two technical problems on this, hopefully I will be able to iron them out if I do a second one.

I hope you find this interesting.

Enjoy

Richard

Podcast 1

Azerbaijan the “Land of Repression,” to host Euro 2020

Last week UEFA announced the 13 cities that will be hosting the Euro 2020 Championships. I like many people was pleased that the finals would be coming to Wembley. However, after closer inspection of the other host cities, I came to realise that Baku in Azerbaijan was also on the list to become a home for a series of group stage matches as well as a quarter final. 

According to Amnesty International the list of human rights violations regularly perpetrated by the Azerbaijani authorities is long and includes clamping down on the right to freedom of expression, assembly and association including persecution of activists, arresting them on trumped up charges and denying them the right to a fair trial. They currently count at least 17 prisoners of conscience behind bars solely for peacefully expressing their views.

This leaves us asking the question; should countries with poor human rights records really be allowed to host the European Championships? I personally don’t think they should be able to. Although, that sadly leaves us asking which countries truly have a perfect Human Rights record? Sadly, not many.

More information on Amnesty International’s work on Azerbaijan can be found here.

Free Ghoncheh, Jailed For Wanting To Watch Volleyball

Earlier this summer, Ghoncheh Ghavami stood outside Tehran's majestic Azadi (freedom) stadium, wearing a white scarf and holding up a placard.

With Hassan Rouhani promising a more moderate stance in Iran, she wanted to enter the stadium alongside male fans, hoping that the Islamic republic's ban on women attending big sporting events would finally be over.

As Iran's volleyball team hosted Italy later that Friday, Ghavami, 25 – who holds dual British and Iranian citizenship – was arrested with a number of other female fans who were peacefully demanding to be allowed into the match. She was released after several hours in detention but re-arrested in late June when she went back to collect her mobile phone, which had been confiscated after the protest. Nearly three months on, she remains in jail.

Amnesty International says she is being held in Tehran's notorious Evin prison, where she was kept in solitary confinement for more than 40 days before being moved to a shared cell.

"She is a prisoner of conscience, arrested solely for taking part in a peaceful protest against the ban on women attending volleyball world league matches in Tehran's Azadi stadium," said Amnesty.

Give My Goals for a Better World along with thousands of others are demanding her immediate release. Please take action here and/or here. #FreeGhonchehGhavami.

Allez les Algeriens! Part 2

In 1958, in the midst of Algeria’s war of independence against their imperial rulers France, Algeria formed a football team which for the first time wore the national colours. Its line-up included Rachid Makhloufi, Ben Tifour and other Algerians who were professional players in France. Makhoulfi had also been capped for the French national team.

Blockaded by the colonial power, Algeria only managed to play against Monocco – who were then banned from FIFA for several years – and engage in several low key but significant games organised by sports unions in some Arab and Eastern European countries. FIFA and the French football league blacklisted  the players involved and they were barred from ever returning to professional activity. This showed the bravery of the footballers who were prepared to give up everything, including a comfortable life as professional footballers, for the independence of their homeland and its people. 

However, after Algeria won its independence, the French football league had no alternative but to call up the players the fans longed for.