Maths Of The Day - the maths behind the match!

Launched by BBC Sport and BBC Learning to coincide with the return of the FA Cup to BBC Television, Maths Of The Day will highlight the maths in football and show how accessible and enjoyable it can be. Through four films to be shown on Football Focus and four specially commissioned BBC iWonder guides, fans will be able to see how they already have a relationship with maths through the sport they love.

Around four in five adults in the UK have a low level of numeracy – roughly defined as the equivalent of being below GCSE grade C. The Government’s 2011 Skills for Life survey found that 17 million adults in England alone only have numeracy levels expected of children at primary school, which is almost half of the working-age population, and there is a similar picture in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In addition, poor numeracy is estimated to cost the UK £20.2 billion per year (about 1.3 percent of GDP).

In the first film to be shown on Football Focus on Saturday 8 November 12.20pm, BBC Football Pundit Robbie Savage joins forces with Countdown presenter and die-hard football fan Rachel Riley, to explain how maths is intrinsic to the game. Used by managers, sport scientists and statisticians to get the most out of their footballers, and by pundits like Robbie to describe what happened during the match.

For BBC iWonder Dan Walker asks, what's the maths behind an amazing FA Cup free-kick? How can you save a Stuart Pearce strike when you have just three-tenths of a second to react? The iWonder guide gives users the chance to play video forwards and backwards through three of the very best FA Cup goals, before being able to understand the weird and wonderful facts behind powering, spinning or dipping the ball into the back of the net.

Speaking about the campaign Dan Walker says: “Football fans know their maths already. It's buying a pie and a Bovril and making sure you've got enough dosh left to get home. It's adding up the goal difference to see how many your team need to score to avoid the drop or make the playoffs. What this campaign does is show you how to apply that knowledge to solve everyday maths problems.”

Head of BBC Learning, Sinead Rocks says: “Many people across the UK have challenges when it comes to numeracy. We want Maths Of The Day to play a part in addressing this in a way that feels engaging, and by helping people realise maths isn't just about textbooks or classrooms.”

BBC Sport and BBC Learning have been working closely with numeracy charity National Numeracy. Its Chief Executive Mike Ellicock says: “National Numeracy strongly supports the BBC campaign to reveal the maths in football. International research shows us that good everyday maths is the best protection against unemployment, low wages and poor health – and this excellent initiative should help to combat ‘I can’t do maths’ – something that is holding back millions of people across the UK.”

The Football Focus films and iWonder guides will be available on the BBC Sport website and new ones will be released during different rounds of the FA Cup between November and the final in May. CBBC’s MOTD Kickabout will make versions of the films suitable to their audience.

For schools Gary Lineker will be presenting three football-related maths films for primary schools to sit on BBC Bitesize. These films will also be shown on CBBC’s MOTD Kickabout.

There will also be additional support and content on Radio 5 Live also led by Dan Walker.

JP2

Related BBC Links

• BBC Sport
• BBC iWonder