Some school leaders are choosing not to show England’s opening match at next week’s World Cup because of “ethical” concerns surrounding the tournament.
England men will take on Iran on Monday 21 November at 1pm GMT. This is the team’s only game scheduled to take place within school hours but, although many heads have previously chosen to show major matches that have taken place within the school day, many are opting not to do so this time.
FIFA’s choice to host the tournament in Qatar has been very controversial because of the country’s laws on homosexuality and its treatment of migrant workers.
Some heads have said showing the game would be “at odds” with the work they have done on diversity.
Others have said they will show the match but will have “age-appropriate” discussions with students about the ethics of the tournament.
A survey by TeacherTapp earlier this week found that just 9 per cent of all schools said they would show the game, while 46 per cent said they would not.
The rest were undecided or did not know.
Andy Byers, headteacher at Framwellgate School in Durham, said that his school had taken the decision not to show the game.
He said: “There are ethical objections to this World Cup, which is at odds with the work we have done on equality and diversity and, on a practical level, the logistics are too difficult to manage.
“It also sends a poor message to students. Uniting as a community around big sporting or cultural events is important but I’m not convinced that this game is a big event. The outcome does not determine our progression in the tournament, and the tournament itself is being played down in the UK because of ethical concerns.”
Dan Morrow, CEO and trust leader at Dartmoor Multi-Academy Trust, said his “firm view” was not to show the game for operational, practical and “prevailing ethical considerations”.
While Caroline Derbyshire, chief executive of Saffron Academy Trust in Essex, said that although the decision in her trust would be down to individual heads, her sense was that with it being such a “controversial” tournament, and the game being at an early stage in the competition, “heads will not be wanting to engage enthusiastically with it”.
Some heads said they would show the game, but with ethical issues addressed.
Dan Woodrow, headteacher of St Gregory CEVC Primary School in Sudbury, Suffolk, said the game would be shown in the hall on Monday, and the school would be making a good luck video to share on social media.
He said: “It’s the only game that England will be playing during school time and we have a tradition at school of supporting both the men’s and the women’s teams for their first games.
“We will be addressing the ethical issues with select older classes at an age-appropriate level”.
Chris Dyson, headteacher at Parklands Primary School in Leeds, said he would be showing the game to children who wanted to watch it - with alternatives for those that did not want to - partly due to concerns about attendance if it was not shown.
“If my school had not been showing the game back in the day [as a pupil], I’d have had the day off on the sofa with a bad head. It is our national sport, and for purposes, if the children know they can come in and watch the game, they’ll come in”, he added.
He said the ethics came down to the sports governing bodies rather than football fans but that nobody “in their right mind” would have chosen to host the World Cup in Qatar and that teachers could “feel free, especially with older children, to discuss these sort of issues”.
“We’re not looking at that, we’re looking at a game of football on a pitch with 22 players”, he said.
Dominic Arnall, chief executive of Just Like Us, an LGBT+ charity for young people, said the tournament was a “really key opportunity” for school staff to open up the conversation about LGBT+ rights in their classrooms if they were comfortable to.
He added: “We’d really encourage teachers to chat to pupils about what this means for LGBT+ people and start a conversation about allyship.
“Young people are likely to have questions about what’s happening and will probably really welcome the chance to see what’s going on outside the classroom, or perhaps in their favourite sport, to become an inclusive discussion that they can have in school”.
