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Since the late 1990s, the grass-roots sporting workforce in England has been subjected to increasing policy intervention, primarily due to Government desire to use the private and voluntary sector to deliver a range of political objectives. English grass-roots football is arguably the most important site for this policy delivery given its huge popularity -providing the largest numbers of volunteers for any leisure pursuit in the UK [Sport England (2003)]. Despite this popularity, little is known about the grass-roots football workforce, made up of a large pool of volunteers, some governance staff and football development professionals -less still about the impact that such incipient policy interventions have had on their roles. This article draws on the data collected during separate PhD research undertaken by the authors to illustrate the impact that such policy interventions have had on the grass-roots workforce. Two recent strategies -The English Football Association's Charter Standard Scheme and The Equity Strategy -provide the focus. The data collected from interviews across a broad spectrum of grass-roots football personnel suggest a general uneasiness around the imposition of modernisation at this level.

In 1998 the Women's Cricket Association (WCA) merged with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), a move influenced by financial difficulties but also informed by a liberal, equal opportunities approach to gender equality. This article examines the early impact of this merger on the development of women's recreational cricket in England. It draws upon data collected from six semi-structured interviews with key personnel involved in women's cricket at two County Cricket Boards. Findings suggest that since the merger the development of the women's game has been limited because it has been left to 'compete' for resources with the existing well-established and male dominated clubs. Access to facilities, club infrastructure, workforce and decision making positions remain protected by male participants and clubs. Adopting a critical feminist position, we argue that this liberal 'absorption' approach to gender equality has done little to challenge the structural arrangements of recreational cricket that continue to protect and prioritise male interests.