Football stars argue the game´s importance for today´s society

The benefits of football to society and the importance of society for football are set to be discussed by an all-star panel including former England and Sheffield Wednesday manager, Howard Wilkinson, and the chairmen of both Sheffield football clubs, Kevin McCabe and Lee Strafford. `The Good of the Game: Football, Society and Globalisation´ is a `Question Time´ style event organised by the Public Services Academy at the University of Sheffield and Sheffield United Football Club as part of the ESRC´s Festival of Social Science and will be held this Friday (19 March 2010). It will bring together, for the first time, football´s greatest names a large public audience to discuss the links between football and society. The panel will discuss many pressing issues including whether football is losing its community links under commercial globalisation, what role football plays in society, whether sporting events reinforce social identity among communities that are drifting apart and whether today´s professionals are detached from the communities that support them. The panel will be chaired by BBC Sheffield´s, Rob Staton and will include: -Howard Wilkinson, Former England and Sheffield Wednesday Manager Rt Hon. Richard Caborn MP, Former Minister for Sport Dr Gary Armstrong, Sheffield United Biographer Dr Rogan Taylor, Co-Founder of the Football Supporters Association Kevin McCabe, Chairman of Sheffield United Lee Stafford, Chairman of Sheffield Wednesday James Hope-Gill, Chief Executive of Sheffield and Hallamshire FA