Local and National Provision For Football.

AS and A Level Physical Education (Sport & Coaching)

LOCAL AND NATIONAL PROVISION FOR FOOTBALL

Introduction

It is estimated that around seventy thousand boys play football, for either a school or club team at each age level between under 11 and under 16, and that over 500 thousand play between the ages of nine to sixteen. It is therefore surprising that that the influx of British players coming through the youth systems, academies and centres of excellence are fairly low. Only 0.6% of the 500 thousand register in the football academies and 1.6% in the centres of excellence. In addition none of the football academies or centres of excellence have taken in the maximum number of young players that their threshold suggests.

The purpose of this investigation is to produce an analytical account of the development of sporting excellence within football. Provision from grass roots to national selection and the provision of pathways for participants locally and nationally will be included as well as provision for female and disabled participants. Being the most popular team sport in England it is becoming more important for football teams to bring in ‘home-grown’ talent to improve morale in sport on a national level.

Grass Roots

Youth development is the responsibility of the 43 county football associations. These are independent bodies, which are affiliated to the football association and are responsible for all aspects of the game at local level. One of the key tasks, which is undertaken by the county football associations, is the affiliation of local competitions and leagues, registering players to clubs and the organisation of match officials and administration of discipline. Traditionally the search for talent within the UK has been a hit and miss system. The division between amateur sport and professional sport has meant that any attempt to centralise any kind of talent search has been fraught with difficulty. There is a more recreational view on sport and the early identification of talent is a lost cause. The idea of directing children into sport occurred in the USA and Europe more than 30 years ago, but here many struggle with the morality of the concept.

Sport England has confirmed funding for Sportsmatch, the incentive scheme for grass roots sport sponsorship, for 2003/04. The scheme will have £3.675 million to support some 370-400 grass-roots programmes in England. Roger Draper, the chief executive of Sport England, said:

“We are pleased to give our backing to Sportsmatch which does a great job at boosting grass roots and youth sport.” Sportsmatch in England is funded by the department for culture, media and sport through Sport England. It is administered by the Institute of Sports Sponsorship. In ten years Sports match has encouraged 4,000 companies to sponsor projects and have ...

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The main provision for football in Bournemouth is the AFC Bournemouth Soccer Schools situated in the Littledown centre. The development flow diagram can be seen in figure 1 of the appendix section. There is the Littledown juniors who are one of the biggest youth football clubs in the country.

In Figure 3 of the appendices is a leaflet from the Littledown centre showing information about times and dates of the course. From this it is possible to see that a large emphasis is on the children having fun. They use this to target parents as they say, “The kids learn more when its fun.” Then there is the information about development and shows how it is possible to go through all development stages at this particular site.

Whilst at the Littledown centre it was possible to speak to the Front of House manager, John Davies who explained the courses and gave details on talent scouts. He mentioned that there have been numerous cases of coaches keeping their better players away from the talent scouts in a bid to progress in the mini-leagues that go on in the local area. He talked about the tournaments in the summer and how it became profitable through teams using the bar area and purchasing refreshments.

Provision for Elite performers

The facilities of the two national sport centres at Bisham Abbey and Lilleshall have now been joined by the Centre at Plas-Y-Brenin in Wales; also the national sport centre at Crystal Palace. The aim of these centres is to provide a range of facilities capable of preparing athletes for international competition. The Football Association has its own world class programme in the England School of excellence where the nurturing of talent takes place. The likes of Alan Smith and James Milner have emerged form here. See figure 2 in the appendix section.

In Hampshire and Dorset there has been a focus on refereeing in the sport and opportunities have been made available for training to officiate at matches. It is funded by the Football association in a bid to increase interest in football for those who are not able to pursue the sport as players. Figure 4 shows information on training modules and the parts needed to be able to become a fully fledged referee. Figure 5 on the other side of the sheet shows the progression from beginner to FIFA standard. This indicates that it is possible to follow an interest in the sport not directly through playing.

Provision for the disabled

There are no football clubs solely for the disabled in the region, but there are opportunities for those with disabilities (physical or mental) to play football in the local area. There are handicapped referees who are trained at various sites in Bournemouth. At Littledown there is a course run by AFC Bournemouth for those between 6 and 18 years once a week for those with physical disabilities and mental disabilities.

On a national scale there are many schemes for the disabled. A national “Multi-Disabled Soccer Association” runs throughout the country. Chelsea football club has a very successful disabled squad who are European Champions. Scotland has a national Cerebral Palsy squad, which competes in international tournaments.

Provision for Women

There are many women’s football teams in Dorset and around the country. Nearly all teams in the English Football Divisions have women’s teams and the growth of these teams has been phenomenal in recent years especially. It is the fastest growing sport in the country. The Football Association is committed in providing football to the mass of women who wish to participate.

At the Littledown centre the facilities are available for organised 6-a-side football for girls over 14 years of age. Coaching is available from qualified Football Association coaches. There are weekly leagues and monthly tournaments. Many of the clubs in Bournemouth have women’s teams e.g. Moordown Women’s Football Club. There is also opportunity for women to enrol as referees. Figure 8 shows details of how the Football Association wants to get everyone involved in the sport.

Local Provision

In the local area provision for football comes in leagues in which various teams from different district play against each other on a Saturday or Sunday. Many age groups take part and there are often scouts from local clubs who come and observe matches regularly. It also comes in the form of tournaments where a fee is paid to enter a team and the winning team often receives a reward, used as an incentive to bring people into the sport. An example of this at the Littledown centre is shown in Figure 7 and the summer leagues in figure 6. These are focused mainly on a recreational theme and is not intended for those who want to progress in the sport although some of the Littledown coached do watch some of the games and may take an interest in some players.

Conclusions

The provision for playing football has the potential to be one of the best in the country. It is accessible for anyone who wishes to participate in the sport. There are Boys’ and girls’ leagues, professional and amateur leagues for men and women. In addition there is access for the disabled to the sport. The facilities are open to all at low cost and are available for recreational use and competitive use. The funding for youth development is improving with the new lottery grants introduced and those at the top are realising that it is at the early stages that talent should be spotted.

The provision for the development of players is lacking. Improvements are being made but the number of players coming through the branches of academies and centres of excellence do not match the figures in other European countries such as France. This is required to build sport in this country internationally. Many football teams, especially Chelsea, import players from abroad to try and get success in the professional league. This does not help the national situation because fewer English people are being scouted for English teams. Many have said that this is the reason for the slump in England’s international performances in recent years.