About Clubland
The Stories Behind the Scoreboard
Clubland is where grassroots glory meets professional dreams — a newsletter dedicated to the athletes, coaches, and communities that make sport happen and matter.
What You’ll Get
Every week, Clubland brings you:
🏆 Grassroots Spotlights — The Sunday league heroes, school sport stars, and community club champions who deserve their moment in the spotlight. These are the stories mainstream media doesn’t tell.
📈 The Path to Pro — Real conversations about athletes and coaches and what it takes to make the jump from amateur to professional sport. No sugar-coating, just honest insights.
🎯 Analysis That Matters — Tactical breakdowns, coaching insights, and performance tips that work at every level — whether you’re playing Saturday mornings or competing at the top.
💬 Community Conversations — Your voice matters here. Share your experiences, debate the big questions, and connect with fellow sports enthusiasts who understand that the best games aren’t always on TV.
Why Clubland Exists
Sport isn’t just about the elite. It’s about the kids taking their first penalty, the volunteer coach giving up their weekends, the parent driving to away games, and the community that shows up rain or shine.
But these stories rarely get told. The media focuses on the few at the top, while millions participate, compete, and sacrifice at every other level.
Clubland exists to change that.
Who I Am
I spent 16 years working in professional football at club and national team level as a head of performance spending 6 years supporting the Scotland mens national football team team. As well as my time in Football I have worked with the English Institute of Sport supporting wheelchair sports, with the Scottish Institute of Sport supporting athletes at 2 Commonwealth Games, with the Great Britain Water Polo team and the English Football Association.
As well as sport I have worked in academia as a researcher, you can read some of my work at the link here Neil Gibson's research.
For the last 10 years I have been delivery large scale sports infrastructure in the UK and Australia, helping universities and government reimagine what a sporting precinct looks like.
Publishing Schedule
New posts every 7 days across Substack, Linkedin and Social media channels.
Subscribe Now
Get Clubland delivered straight to your inbox. It’s free to start, with premium content available for those who want to go deeper.
Free subscribers get:
Weekly grassroots spotlights
Community stories and highlights
Selected analysis and commentary
