Table 3 Examples of verbatim quotes illustrating how the football setting acted as a ‘draw’, overcoming obstacles and attracting men ‘like’ them

The draw of the football club overcoming anxiety about enrolling in a weight management programme

Extract 1

M4: I remember the first time… when you got weighed and all that sort of stuff – if they were going to take you on the course – and I genuinely, I just didnae want to be here. I felt very nervous aboot the whole thing, and he [fieldstaff member] was getting the weight. It was very embarrassing. It’s not now, but at the time, it was. At the time, I was like, “Oh, this is terrible,” and aye, measuring my waist, and I came in here … That was the first time I met [Coach 1], and I genuinely thought, “After I get out [of] here, I’m just going in the car, ignore the phone calls, ignore the emails, I’m not daen [doing] that. That’s ridiculous.” And I sat in here with [Coach 1], and he was telling us, “Right, you know, of course we train here, at [Club07 ground].” And I thought, “That’s good. I wouldn’t mind training here at [Club07 ground]....” And after that, he said, “Aye, ken what we’ll do, we’ll get you some training gear … you’ll be running aboot in the training gear.” And honestly, I couldnae get the grin off my face. I was like a bairn [child]. I thought, “I want to be training at [Club07 ground],” with the, you know, aye, with the kit. (Club07 FG)

Extract 2

M4: I just heard, you know, seen something about it – I don’t know if it was ‘Good Morning Scotland’[BBC radio programme] or one of the radio programs. I’d heard something about it, but I never thought anything more of it, ‘til I … was approached [at a pre-season game] and signed up, and then I felt quite apprehensive. I thought, “Och, no,” you know? I’ve got arthritis, I’m taking these pills, I can hardly move, you know? So, you know, they’ll probably reject me, you know, when I go along”. So I thought, “Well, I’ve spent fifty years looking after other people, so it’s maybe time to look after myself” – but I came along and was very pleasantly surprised, and my goal was to lose weight, coz I was over fourteen stone, and to get fit. (Club02 FG)

Attending FFIT enrolment and early sessions and seeing that this is for people (men) ‘like me’

Extract 3

M1: Aye, that was the thing, it was… Everybody was starting from the same spot.

M3: Starting point.

M1: And it wasnae super fit people and going to completely the other scale – we were all kinda in the same spot, to start off wi’. That was why I did it. (Club13 FG)

Extract 4

M1: The good thing was, straight from the start, we all had something in common with each other. Rather than being sixteen strangers, we’d all something in common, and that was the club and a love for it.

M5: Two things in common. We were fat and we supported [Club03].

M1: Sorry, we were cuddly and supported [Club03], and that was the big factor. So no matter… you didn’t know each other’s names, we immediately were able to converse with each other easily. (Club03 FG)