Wayne Goldsmith

By WAYNE GOLDSMITH There is an AI generated graphic doing the rounds on social media at the moment. Some expert who's come up with an all new insight, registered a website and developed a new business called SPORT'S NEW HORIZON or something similar claiming they've just discovered what's wrong with sport. You've all seen a version of it. The "Fabulous Five" as I call them: Falling participation. Teenage dropout. Rising costs. Parent behaviour.

The idea that every child is destined to be an elite athlete never made sense - and never will. Success in junior sport isn’t talent. It’s retention. The only kid who can’t improve is the one who isn’t there. After conversations with national bodies around the world, the pathway model is finally being abandoned. Better late than never. I’ve been writing about sport’s biggest problem for about twenty years now. The “pathway” model.

The FIFA Football World Cup is on now. Millions of kids are staring at screens all over the globe, watching, cheering, yelling, screaming, and jumping around their living rooms as their heroes pass, kick, and tackle their way to football immortality. Some of these kids will experience a burning—a little flicker of the flame of inspiration in their chests—and think and speak those words that have been the motivation for so many of humanity’s greatest achievements.