Liverpool Communities Benefit From An International Football Tournament

A lecturer from Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) is conducting research into a unique month-long, multi-cultural football tournament, The World in One City (WIOC), being staged in Liverpool (3 June – 30 June).

WIOC was founded in 2021 and is a volunteer-led international tournament open to those in the Merseyside region with ethnic links to different nations around the world – from Albania to Zimbabwe.

Dr Lorraine Bedwell, who lectures in Sport Business and is a recognised expert in cultural change in sport, is conducting extensive research into the social and cultural impact of the WIOC initiative which celebrates Liverpool’s multi-cultural diversity and aims to help better integrate the city’s communities.

The tournament gives a unique platform to multi-ethnic communities and individuals from across the Liverpool City Region to proudly showcase their heritage, culture, and diversity.

The opening three weeks of this year’s tournament have already seen great matches with hundreds of local spectators turning up to see players representing teams from 16 nations across 5 continents who each qualified for the finals this year.

Dr Bedwell is using WIOC as a case study to examine the role of the tournament in promoting sporting participation at grassroots level, its impact on all participants, and the wider societal outcomes from WIOC.

This includes extensive consultation with WIOC and its key stakeholders, including spectators, volunteers, and participants. It will contribute towards addressing gaps in the UK Government Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport’s knowledge of the impact of grassroots-based events such as WIOC.

Dr Bedwell, said: “WIOC provides a great example of the power of grassroots sport, and the purpose of this study is to enhance understanding of the impact and value that events of this size have on the communities that they serve.

“While these tournaments are highly valued by their participants, we do not know enough about their specific impact on community pride and sporting participation in under-represented groups, and the extent to which people learn from different cultures.

“Using WIOC as a case study and engaging with all the groups of people who it benefits throughout the month of the tournament will provide valuable insights into these gaps in knowledge.”