A message from the Chief Executive

Tuesday 06 September 2011By ESFA Office

Last Updated:
10/02/2021 10:49:14

John Read - ESFA Chief Executive

John Read, ESFA CEO

The ESFA enters another new academic year with an enlarged and exciting programme of festivals, local, regional and national competitions, despite the recent Government cutbacks on spending on school sport. Mindful of the cost of travel and the new ‘Rarely Cover’ regulations, the ESFA has embarked on a fund raising campaign which has already brought in two major sponsors for 2011-2012.

Tesco will be sponsoring the ESFA U11 Primary Schools’ Small Sided Competitions. This partnership will raise the awareness of the ESFA and allow Tesco to add to their already huge involvement in the football coaching of 5 to 11 year old children and to add the initiative to their community programmes at a local level.

Bottleit.net, a company selling revolutionary sporting drinking bottles, will provide drinking bottles for the English Schools’ Under 15 girls and Under 18 Boys’ international sides as well as being title sponsors of the ESFA under 16 Girls’ Inter County Cup.

Although entries are down on all the national competitions from last year we expect that the number of local competitions will increase.

ESFA introduces a new Boys’ Under 13 knock-out cup this year for secondary schools with fewer than 65 boys in their Year 8. Of course, under the new Football Association equality regulations this competition will be open to girls as well. In addition there will be a new trophy for the Girls’ Under 14 Inter County competition.

The new season brings an extension to the highly successful under 15 girls representative side with an invitation to take part in the Bob Docherty Trophy being held in Dublin over the school Easter holidays. The girls will play against the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Holland. They will also attempt to retain the Lloyds/TSB Cup against Scotland in Glasgow at the end of April 2012, following their stunning victory against the ‘Old Enemy’ last year.

The under 18 boys’ international team will be trying to improve on their 3rd place in last year’s centenary shield with home matches against Scotland and the Republic of Ireland. Both these games will be featured live on SKY SPORTS TV on 12th and 26th April respectively. New ground will also be broken with the first international against the Polish international squad who will be playing England as part of their build up for the UEFA Championships. The last time an England schools’ team played foreign opposition, Belgium, who were warming up for the UEFA Championships, they won convincingly 5-1.

On the domestic front, football joins the sports to be organised by the new School Games in 2011-2012. This will make no real difference to the overall picture within schools’ football as there is already such a comprehensive fixture list. However, we are hoping that the Youth Sports Trust initiative will allow schools to develop more teams in intra school competition and therefore increase the overall participation in competitive football. Each District will be asked to name a priority area within their programme for extension and development.

ESFA wishes to thank all those teachers and coaches who give up their valuable time to deliver schools’ football. Without the thousands of volunteers we would not be the largest school sports association in the world.

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