FA Youth Review: 2012- 2015

Impact on the Stourbridge & District

Youth and Girls Football League

Agenda

• Main changes to the current league formats• U7s and U8s• U9s and U10s• U11s and U12s• Summary of changes• Reasons for changes• Good Practise from other leagues

Why do we make our kids play like adults?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BD2iLUq6DE

Why make the changes?

• Children have more touches on the ball to develop technique

• Children have more dribbling opportunities and 1v1s

• Children have more shots and score more goals• Children have more involvement in the game• Children get more enjoyment through learning

to play football

“This is about a modern, child-friendly approach to youth football, challenging

the win-at-all costs mentality that is stifling development and enjoyment for young

people. Working together with a proactive attitude, adults can help develop a better learning environment for young people that puts their needs at the centre of the

process.”

Nick Levett, The FA

U7’s and U8’s: the facts

• Goal Size: 12ft x 6ft• ½ way line used as a retreat line• Size 3 ball, 5v5 format• Option of playing ¼’s rather than ½’s• Roll-ins- instead of throw ins• Roll on, roll off subs• No results to be published• 3 trophy events a season- max of 2 weeks each

*It is important to note that the Law changes to Mini-Soccer that include a retreat line, the option of quarters for development matches and roll-ins for U7/8 are optional for season 2012/13.

U9’s and U10’s: the facts

• Goal Size: 12ft x 6ft• ½ way line used as a retreat line• Size 3 ball- U9, Size 4 ball- U10• 7v7 format• Option of playing ¼’s rather than ½’s• Roll on, roll off subs• No results to be published: – U9’s 13/14 season– U10’s 14/15 season

• 3 trophy events a season- max of 4 weeks each

U11’s and U12’s: the facts

• Goal Size: 16ft or 21ft x 7ft• Size 4 ball, 9v9 format• Roll on, roll off subs• Offside rules apply• Normal Throw ins• No results to be published for U11s from

2015/2016 season• 3 trophy events a season- U11s- max of 6 weeks

each

Goalpost Sizes

Age Group Format for 2013/2014

seasonU7 5v5U8 7v7U9 7v7

U10 7v7U11 9v9U12 11v11

U13+ 11v11

Age Group Format for 2014/2015

seasonU7 5v5U8 5v5U9 7v7

U10 7v7U11 9v9U12 9v9

U13+ 11v11

Formats of the Game

Pitch Solutions

Competition Formats

Age Group 2013-2014 season 2014-2015 season 2015-2016 season

U7

No league tables publishedNo single 8 month long season

3 trophy events allowed per mini seasonU8

U9

U10

U11 League tables allowedU12

U13+

U7 and U8 U9 and U10 U11

Each child gets the opportunity to play for a little cup up to 3 times a

season.

This competition can take place over a 2 week period

As children develop, the periods of competition can increase. They can begin to interpret results in a more meaningful way.

This competition can take place over a 4 week period

Children can now start to understand whether a

team beats them because they tried harder or they

were better players.

This competition can take place over a 6 week period

E.G. A knockout cup event E.G. Group stages and a cup final

E.G. Champions League style event

This means that over a typical 26 week season, 6

weeks of this will be focused on competition.

This means that over a typical 26 week season, 12

weeks of this will be focused on competition.

This means that over a typical 26 week season, 18

weeks of this will be focused on competition.

Suggested Competition FormatsChampions Leaguee.g. 32 teams in an age group- 8 groups of 4. Round robin matches that lead to the group winners being decided. The top teams go through to play in a Champions League competition & the other teams organised into a Europa League format.

Place CompetitionSplit 20 teams into 4 small groups, after a series of round robin matches provided the organisers with a ‘place’ for that team. Put all the teams that finished in the top 2 of their group together to play for 1ST to 8TH place. All the teams that finished 3RD in their group, play off for 9TH to 12TH. The teams that finished 4TH play off for 13TH to 16TH & the teams that finished 5TH play off for 17TH to 20TH.

Festivals & Round RobinsMini-Soccer has proved successful where a number of teams have come together at a venue to play several matches, rather than two teams playing one match against each other.

With some clever planning the teams would get the opportunity to play both a hard game and an easy game. This will alleviate any pressure felt about winning when only playing one match. It is also a great opportunity to get young coaches and referees involved in football administration within a controlled environment.

Cup EventsIf you are organising a cup competition that has a knockout element to it, why not try ensuring that teams can play more games by running a plate or a vase competition alongside this too.

This gives more teams the chance to experience the thrill of a cup final against teams of a similar level rather than getting drawn against a team three divisions higher.

Ladder EventsDepending on the organisation of fixtures, it is possible to arrange matches in such a way that teams can play against those near them several times a season, challenging the teams above or below them to swap positions.This puts the emphasis on more equal games and avoiding the 26-0 score lines we don’t want to see. This has worked really effectively in tennis competitions.

Development MatchesIn between the trophy events it is vital teams still understand the importance of playing development matches. Development matches are a valuable way to put all the skills learnt in the Youth League into practice.Scores from these games can be kept and used to seed teams in different events or for future league tables.

More Solutions

• 9v9 Goal Post fund Support: 50% off• BC Coach Bursary Scheme: up to 60% off• Local Authority Volunteer Centres: post

adverts for more volunteers• FA Football Futures: new volunteers via

colleges and universities• Dudley Council: currently reviewing PPS and

investment will be made next season

Good Practise

Surrey Youth League (over 500 teams) - Moved to 9v9 this season and found the

change to be fantastic for all involved, including referees.

- The League managed to secure a grant through Sport England Small Grants Programme (£10,000) that has paid for all of their goals for the clubs to use.

East Lancashire Football Alliance - Been running this model this season, with the

team’s starting outside before coming indoors for a mid-season block of Futsal, and then back outside for the final block of learning.

- The best thing they have found from this process is that the adults have taken the more laid-back attitude of development matches into league matches, making the environment much better for the children playing.

• One league in the midlands have 32 teams in one age group, split them into 8 groups of four and played a Champions League style event – something that really captured the children's imagination.

• The SELKENT League in south-east London have discussed the option of playing the bottom 3 in 1 division against the top 3 from the below division, as they were never sure on whether they could compete equally a league higher up.

• Coventry Minor League- Received funding for 5 sets of 9v9 goals from The FA/BCFA. The league normally loses 12 under 10’s teams for the following season when they move to under 11’s when playing 11x11 football, since the start of season 2012/13 and 9x9 football the league as retained the same number of teams that we had in the under 10’s divisions in season 2011/12.

• Nuneaton & Bedworth Minor League- FA pilot league for Youth Review changes. Continued growth each year and better ‘customer’ satisfaction from clubs and players.