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In this article there is a sentence as follows

Wenger fell instantly for a sport associated with the working classes and kids in school that failed to excel

What does that mean by failed to excel here?

Does that mean the working classes and kids in school failed to excel that sport (football)?

Please explain for me.

Thanks

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No, it does not mean that anyone failed to excel at football.

The sentence seems a bit garbled, but I would parse it as follows:

Wenger fell instantly for a sport associated with
(
(the working classes)
and
(kids in school that failed to excel)
)

"Kids in school that failed to excel" would probably be easier to read as

Kids that failed to excel in school

Or even better, as @AndrewLeach points out in his comment:

Kids who failed to excel in school

While that can still mean they excel at sports (in an American setting, I guess), this generally means they did not excel at their academic pursuits, lowering their chances of becoming successful in life through their education.

Football, in Wenger's view, gives (some of) those people a chance to become successful in a different way.

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  • In that situation, "fell for" means "strongly attracted to", rather than to be "tricked into believing something that is not true", isn't it? oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/…
    – trequartista
    Commented Jun 4, 2017 at 10:33
  • 1
    @Knumber10 Yes indeed, it does mean "he became strongly attracted to the sport".
    – oerkelens
    Commented Jun 4, 2017 at 10:40
  • It might be clearer if that (referring to "kids") was actually who.
    – Andrew Leach ♦
    Commented Jun 4, 2017 at 10:49

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