Explanatory Visualisation for Women’s Return-to-Play in Grassroots Football

Women returning to grassroots football during motherhood navi-
gate physical, emotional, and social challenges poorly represented
by performance-focused sport technologies. We present a design
study exploring how explanatory visualisation can support reflec-
tion, understanding, and belonging during return-to-play. Drawing
on survey responses from mothers in grassroots football, we use the
Empathy-Driven Visualisation Framework (EDVF) and Five De-
sign Sheets (FDS) to translate lived experiences into Field Guide, an
interactive timeline-based prototype. The design represents return-
to-play as non-linear through revisitable states, narrative context,
community perspectives, and domain-aligned visuals. Our findings
demonstrate how explanatory visualisation can move beyond per-
formance metrics to support sensemaking and recognition within
socially embedded experiences.