Professor Dan Kilvington shares how research can drive meaningful change in sport

At the heart of Dan’s research is a drive to better understand inequality in sport and online spaces, and to use evidence to help create fairer, more inclusive environments.

Dan reflected on a career journey which has seen him use action research to drive real change and make football a more inclusive and diverse sport.

Professor Kilvington reflected on several research projects that represent some of his proudest achievements:

• Gathering and analysing 50m tweets and survey 2,000 football fans to understand online harms.
• Partner with sky sports new to help them deal with online harm's impact on the organisation’s staff
• Designing anti-racist training rolled out to every academy coach in the country, providing a more inclusive experience for over 10,000 young footballers
• A partnership with Professional Game Match Officials which to increase diversity in refereeing
• Delivering a TEDx talk, The Virtual Stages of Hate

During his inaugural, Dan identified five essential principles to create impact with research:

• Impact starts before the project
• Manage relationships – applies to researchers and stakeholders
• Planning – what are you measuring? Have a plan but be flexible
• Always curious – stay agile and lookout for new opportunities
• Target stakeholders – some have bigger reach and significance

These included delivering a TEDx talk, The Virtual Stages of Hate, and leading or contributing to major projects focused on tackling online hate in football, promoting anti-racist coaching practice, and increasing diversity in refereeing and match officiating in English football. Together, these projects demonstrate how his research has translated into practical action and meaningful change across the sport sector.

Some of the people that Dan has worked with or helped during his career so far shared their experiences.

Professor Dan Kilvington said:

 “It is an honour to be able to deliver an inaugural lecture at Leeds Beckett. It was all the more special to have so many of the incredible people who’ve supported my career to date in the room.

“While my work opens up so much of the darker side of football, my passion for the game and the impact we’ve already seen offers the hope and determination to keep pushing to make sure the sport can be enjoyed by all."

Partner endorsements of research projects Dan has led were included in the lecture.

Liam Anderson, Premier League Coaching Insights Manager, said:

“Dan and his team’s support and expertise in the creation of our Anti-Racist Coaching Workshop has provided us a platform to increase the awareness of inclusive coaching practice across the entire professional academy environment in football. It has laid the groundwork for our ambition to ensure that all academies are supported in their adoption of a proactive inclusive approach that is effective and sustainable.”

Alexis Simms, EDI Development Partner for Lawn Tennis Association, said:

“Dan’s work is helping to reshape how inclusion and impact are understood. His research amplifies voices that are too often unheard and is directly influencing practice, policy, and wider understanding of the lived experiences of ethnically diverse participants and coaches.”

Tahir Khan, Development Manager for Yorkshire Sport Foundation said he owes a lot to Dan:

“I first met Dan at a workshop he was running about the lack of diversity around coaches in professional football, specifically around ethnicity. I turned up and I didn’t really know what to expect. I’d been trying to get into the sector – I was smashing my head against the wall trying to have an opportunity to work in football or work in sport and there was nothing anywhere. On that night I made some really good connections, and Dan spent a lot of time with me, helped me immensely, followed that up with some emails, made some connections and then from that it just snowballed. I got into football and from there I’ve progressed to where I am now at York Sport Foundation. I always tell Dan that he’s made the biggest impact on my career – genuinely without Dan I wouldn’t be where I am today.” 

Arran Williams, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Manager for PGMOL said: “Collaborating with Prof. Dan Kilvington and Leeds Beckett University has provided us with ground-breaking opportunities including the potential to develop world-firsts in match officiating. Fostering safer and inclusive environments for officials is imperative and Dan brings significant expertise and experience to enable this”

Daniel Kilvington is a Professor in Media and Culture in the School of Humanities and Social Science at Leeds Beckett University. His teaching and research focus on race/ethnicity, racism, anti-racism and anti-discrimination more broadly in sport and new media contexts.

This lecture was part of Leeds Beckett University's inaugural professorial lecture series.