Wolfson Student Maps Barriers to Grassroots Football in Oxfordshire

Wolfson College student Cao Anchi (MPhil in Global and Area Studies) has played a leading role in a major research project exploring how football can be a force for health, equality, and community cohesion across Oxfordshire.

As part of the SDG Impact Lab, Anchi worked with the Oxfordshire Football Association (OFA) to investigate access to grassroots football facilities and the challenges faced by local communities. Alongside his research partner Sana Shah (Somerville College), he conducted surveys, interviews, and fieldwork across the county.

“I was delighted to be accepted onto a football-focused project in collaboration with the OFA, an opportunity that resonated deeply with my personal interests,” he said. “Working directly with the Chief Executive of the OFA, I began mapping football pitches across Oxfordshire and investigating the socioeconomic barriers to inclusive football participation.”

Over the summer, the pair spoke with volunteers, coaches, and representatives from professional clubs’ community outreach programmes, focusing particularly on Oxfordshire’s most deprived wards. Anchi also developed new skills in GIS spatial analysis, successfully mapping 868 football spaces across the county.

Their findings revealed both enthusiasm for the game and persistent obstacles. Uneven pitch distribution, poor pitch quality, high costs, and gaps in gender and cultural representation emerged as recurring themes. Surveys showed that people value football for health and social connection, yet institutional support, maintenance, and financial barriers remain significant hurdles.

The project produced three key outcomes:

• An unprecedented, spatially informed mapping of Oxfordshire football pitches, creating an evidence base to inform policy conversations between the FA, local councils, and community clubs.
• Stronger trust between grassroots clubs and institutions, thanks to extensive fieldwork and community listening.
• A clear communication of the structural challenges facing grassroots football, ensuring community voices are included in policy discussions.

Looking ahead, Anchi and the team hope to bring their findings into the public eye, starting with a case study of Barton. “We aspire to elevate the visibility of this work through the support of the Lab, the OFA, and ideally local media, so that the essential needs of local football communities are acknowledged more widely,” he said.