In the last week of November 2025, The Football Collective’s annual conference took place at the Clearer Twist National Stadium at Windsor Park. The conference was hosted by Ulster university and provided the opportunity for over 120 attendees (academic and other interested parties) to come together to listen, learn, and debate on some of the contemporary issues within the football (soccer) landscape. The theme of the conference was Shaping critical agendas in football.
CCSE was well represented with Dr Andrew Bailey and PhD student Callum McCloskey attending and presenting. Dr Andrew Bailey co-presented with former UWS student Kirsty Mcluskey titled The love of a place: A photovoice study exploring the attachment Rangers Football Club supporters hold towards Ibrox Stadium. This presentation was based on dissertation research undertaken by Kirsty during her fourth year on the Sport Development programme at UWS. The research study captured fan experiences through photographs and personal narratives, offering new insights into the emotional factors that contribute to fan love and attachment to football stadiums.
Callum McCloskey presented work developed from his PhD research, with a title of Sports mega-events, human rights and governance: A case study of the United 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup. Callum’s presentation examined how human rights commitments made during the bid for the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup have been translated into planning and delivery. Using a multi-level qualitative analysis, Callum’s research highlights misalignment between institutional rhetoric and practice within FIFA and host cities, underscoring the need for enforceable mechanisms and stronger stakeholder coalitions to embed human rights in future sport mega-events.
Attending and presenting at the conference provided Andrew and Callum with the opportunity to network and share research with leading scholars and practitioners. For example, prior to Callum presenting, Steve Cockburn of Amnesty International presented on The human rights risks of the 2030 and 2034 FIFA World Cups. Furthermore, Andrew had the opportunity to take part in a Peace Wall walking tour, gaining a greater appreciation and understanding of the historic troubles, peace process, and continued challenges in Belfast and Northern Ireland.
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