Maths and Football

Coach motivates the player...

The goalkeeper explains how he uses his data...

A player in motion...

Mathmatics can help your skills too...

The manager in action...

An anxious moment for our fans...

A keen female fan...

Could this be our moment?!

It is just a few minutes to kick off in what promises to be the biggest day in the life of two young sports fans, Andrew and Simon. Their team is just about to take to the pitch in a World Cup Final. But the true adventure starts when Andrew bets Simon that before the end of the match, he can prove that 'behind every ball played, every corner taken, every goal kicked, lies mathematics of some sort or another.'

Simon's cause is further complicated by the arrival of Mandy, a part time football fan and full time maths expert.

Join our friends as they discover how...

• An aspiring player relies on numbers, measurement and graphs to help him in training for the match.
• The team's manager uses grid references and other aspects of geometry to tell his players where to position themselves on the pitch.
• The teams goalie relies on the properties of angles to know where to stand when defending the goals.
• The use of algebra tells a manager which team is more likely to tire in the second half.
• A manager could use a quick survey to help him make a substitution decision, and how the different wording of the survey could lead to a different result.
• An understanding of areas and percentages helps generate a scheme to break extra time deadlocks.
• A goalie uses chance data and probability to help him save a penalty kick.

Designed with a close eye to the Framework for Teaching Mathematics, and with a strong mix of entertainment and information, Maths and Football is suitable for Key Stages 2 and 3 and is sure to provide a wonderful addition to any maths curriculum.

Maths and Football comes with a set of teacher worksheets and a 'Stats Pack' full of Football facts and figures making it an ideal springboard for follow on activities and projects. The worksheets have been trialled and adapted for the UK classroom by Peter Ransom, Editor of the Mathematical Association Newsletter and a past Chair of the National Mathematics Contest.

The cost is £36.95 plus £4.50 p&p.

How to order