Beyond recreation: Personal social networks and social capital in the transition of young players from recreational football to formal football clubs

The relationship between sport and social capital is drawing the attention of a growing number of writers and researchers. However, its analysis is often limited to social capital accruing to communities or regions through involvement with sport and to the effects this may have on local wellbeing. While participation in sport can facilitate social capital creation at the community level, social capital accruing to wider communities, and particularly sporting communities, can affect the technical development of athletes. This paper reports on research employing both quantitative and qualitative methods to explore the role of social capital in the development of female football players (i.e. soccer) in South Australia. In particular, this paper considers how social capital accruing to players from their personal social networks can influence their early 'career step' between recreational and school football to formal football clubs. The paper focuses on social networks encompassing players, their families and acquaintances, and highlights both positive and negative implications of social capital accumulated by means of membership in those networks.