Inclusion in football: how to turn a personal story into genuine club policy
Inclusion in football cannot depend solely on an emotional testimony or a one-off campaign. For an executive, Day 11 of the 2026 World Cup provides a clear signal: when a player speaks naturally about the reality of having an autistic child, it opens up a valuable conversation, but the responsibility of an organisation is to turn that public awareness into policies, resources and protocols. Portugal beat Uzbekistan 5–0, but the institutional lesson of the day lies in how football listens to diversity and responds to the real needs of players, families and athletes.
Inclusion in football: from public visibility to internal structure
Inclusion in football begins when an organisation understands that diversity is not a peripheral issue. It does not affect only exceptional cases or social programmes separate from performance. It affects how a family is welcomed, how a methodology is adapted, how coaches are trained, how values are communicated and how safe environments are designed for learning and competing.
Day 11 of the Development Observatory was marked by a highly impactful personal testimony: a player spoke naturally about the reality of his autistic son and generated a positive debate around diversity and inclusion in sport. For an executive, the value of the case lies not only in the public emotion it created. It lies in the opportunity to assess whether the club itself has active policies for awareness, support and adaptation.
A genuine testimony can open a door. But without structure behind it, the conversation remains at the level of reputation. Inclusion in football needs to move from “what a beautiful thing to say” to “what are we doing so that a family, player or member of the club genuinely feels understood?”.
The difference between a sensitive organisation and an inclusive organisation lies in implementation.
Autism, families and sport: what an academy needs to understand
Talking about autism in a sporting context requires care. It is not about reducing a person to a diagnosis or using diversity as a communication label. The central issue is understanding that every player, relative or member of the wider environment may need different conditions in order to participate, communicate, receive information or feel safe.
An academy that wants to approach inclusion in football properly should train its teams at three levels. First, basic understanding: recognising that autism may involve differences in communication, sensory sensitivity, social interaction, routines or the management of change. Second, practical observation: identifying environmental barriers without labelling the player. Third, reasonable adaptation: adjusting communication, spaces, timings, rules or support without unnecessarily lowering sporting expectations.
Inclusion does not mean treating everyone in exactly the same way. It means creating the conditions for each person to participate with dignity, safety and a sense of belonging. In youth football, this affects not only a player with a specific need, but also their team-mates, coaches and family.
FIFA has developed a Disability Football Toolkit to support opportunities and sustainable structures for people with disabilities, with the aim of encouraging inclusive and active participation in football. For an organisation, this reference confirms that inclusion needs to be organised through practical tools, not just good intentions. (Inside FIFA)
Genuine testimonies: reputational value without emotional exploitation
The Day 11 case confirms that personal stories can have considerable institutional value when they are authentic. A player who speaks about his child with respect and naturalness can help normalise conversations that were absent from elite sport for many years.
But an executive must distinguish between amplifying a story and exploiting it. Institutional communication based on genuine testimony should meet four conditions: clear consent, respect for privacy, an appropriate context and a connection with real action by the organisation.
If a club shares a story about diversity, it should be able to answer what it does afterwards. Does it have inclusion protocols? Does it train its coaches? Does it adapt the experience for families? Does it have appropriate support professionals? Does it listen to people with disabilities before designing programmes? Does it assess barriers to access?
Inclusion in football loses credibility when it becomes emotional content without continuity. By contrast, it gains authority when the story is connected to visible policies: training, accessibility, support and review of practices.
Marcet understands player development as a process combining learning, autonomy, judgement, values and sporting experience. From a leadership perspective, that vision means creating environments where difference is not viewed as an obstacle, but as part of the reality that a development organisation must know how to support.
Operational complaints from players: listening is also governance
Day 11 also provided a governance warning: repeated complaints from players about the conditions of the stadium selected for the tournament final, apparently ignored by the organisers. For an executive, this connects with inclusion from another angle: an organisation that does not listen to athletes loses critical information about its own environment.
Operational complaints are not always resistance to change or misplaced demands for comfort. They may be warnings about safety, performance, injuries, rest, accessibility, pitch conditions, transport, scheduling or recovery conditions. Ignoring them can turn a manageable problem into a public crisis.
A club or academy should have formal channels for receiving, categorising and responding to concerns from players and coaching staff. Not every comment requires immediate action, but every repeated pattern deserves analysis. If several athletes identify the same barrier, the executive needs to ask whether the organisation is genuinely listening or merely defending its existing plan.
Inclusion in football is also measured here: in the ability to adapt the structure when those experiencing it identify a problem.
How to design an active inclusion policy in football
An inclusion policy in football needs to be specific. The first step is assessment: identifying physical, communicative, financial, cultural, sensory and social barriers within the organisation. It is not enough to say that “everyone is welcome”; the organisation needs to examine what genuinely prevents a person from participating or feeling that they belong.
The second step is training. Coaches, coordinators, tutors, reception staff, communications teams and event managers should understand basic principles of inclusion, respectful treatment, child safeguarding, disability, neurodiversity and family management.
The third step is protocol. The organisation should know how to respond when a family communicates a specific need, when a player requires an adaptation, when discrimination occurs or when an activity is not accessible.
The fourth step is evaluation. An inclusive policy is not proven simply by existing in a document, but by how it is used in practice. The organisation should review how many adaptations are implemented, which barriers continue to appear, how families perceive the experience and which resources the coaching team still needs.
The fifth step is communication. Inclusion should be communicated with restraint, without paternalism and without turning people into campaign symbols. The narrative should communicate respect, normality and institutional commitment.
Scientific basis: sport, autism and social participation
Research into sport and autism indicates that autistic people can benefit from sporting participation in physical, psychological and social dimensions, although some activities may require gradual preparation and specific adaptations. A recent review highlights that there is no general contraindication to sporting participation, but there is a need to adapt the environment and methodology to the individual. (PMC)
There are also studies on group sports activities involving children with autism spectrum disorder that show effects on physical activity and social interaction skills. For an academy, the practical lesson is clear: football can provide a developmental environment, but only if the structure knows how to support participation appropriately. (PMC)
Literature on social inclusion in sport also stresses that the diversity of athletes with disabilities should be the starting point for designing inclusive theory and practice, rather than an exception added at the end. This means clubs should not simply open their doors, but actively review how participation takes place, who is excluded and which conditions make genuine belonging possible. (PMC)
For an executive, these references reinforce one conclusion: inclusion in football is not only an ethical or reputational issue. It is part of the quality of the developmental environment.
Expert quote
Inclusion is not about opening the door and expecting everyone to adapt. It is about reviewing the environment so that every player, family or member of the club can participate with dignity and a sense of belonging. The “we” is built through conditions, not through words.
— José Ignacio Marcet · Marcet Research Institute · 2026 World Cup Development Observatory · Code 202603182024
Frequently asked questions about inclusion in football
What does having a genuine inclusion policy in football mean?
It means having a barrier assessment, internal training, adaptation protocols, listening channels and ongoing evaluation. Declaring inclusive values is not enough; they need to be visible in everyday decisions.
How should an academy respond when a family communicates a specific need?
It should listen without judgement, gather useful information, agree reasonable adaptations, protect confidentiality and coordinate coaches, tutors and academy managers so that the response is consistent.
How can a personal testimony be communicated without exploiting emotion?
Through consent, respect for privacy and a connection with real action. A club should avoid using the story as a campaign if it cannot demonstrate which policies or resources support that commitment.
What is the relationship between inclusion and performance?
An inclusive environment reduces barriers, improves belonging and allows the player to focus on learning and competing. It does not mean lowering expectations, but creating better conditions for every person to develop.
Why is responding to operational complaints also part of inclusion?
Because listening to athletes helps identify genuine barriers in the environment. If repeated concerns about facilities, safety or accessibility are ignored, the organisation is failing in its duty of care.
Practical conclusion
Inclusion in football is not demonstrated on the day when a personal testimony moves the public, but in the weeks and months that follow: when the club reviews protocols, trains its staff, listens to families, adapts environments and responds to operational signals from those experiencing the competition.
Day 11 of the 2026 World Cup reminds us that football can normalise important conversations around diversity, autism and belonging. But it also shows that a major organisation needs to listen when athletes raise concerns about playing conditions.
For an executive, the task is to connect sensitivity with management. A mature development organisation does not merely celebrate genuine stories; it creates a structure in which diversity has a place, a voice and continuity within the sporting project.
Marcet Knowledge will continue observing the World Cup as a laboratory for sporting management: not only through results, but through the decisions that reveal which institutions know how to listen, include and act consistently.
