Author John Boyne: ‘It’s time football academies placed as much an emphasis on a boy’s mental development as his physical so he recognises that girls and women do not exist purely to satisfy his needs’

Irish Independent

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Author John Boyne: ‘It’s time football academies placed as much an emphasis on a boy’s mental development as his physical so he recognises that girls and women do not exist purely to satisfy his needs’

A few years ago, I was having a conversation with a publishing colleague who’s spent many years volunteering as a football coach with teams of children in London. Most of the boys he’s worked with have been obsessed with the game since they were infants or have fathers who’ve loved it for decades. Matches in their league are regularly attended by talent scouts from professional clubs, looking for a future Messi, Ronaldo or Mbappé.