English Schools' Football Association

ESFA Chairman, Neil Pont

 May I open by wishing you a happy and prosperous 2013 and offer an apology that we did not publish our monthly e-zine in December. Materials were all prepared (including my Christmas good wishes and news of my intrepid trek to Antarctica over the festive season) but gremlins in the computer systems at Stafford meant that publication was not possible.

I have returned from high summer in the Antarctic regions to the depths of winter in the North East and it is certainly colder here. It seems that plans to catch up on fixtures delayed by rain before Christmas may now be thwarted by some ice and snow.

Many of you will now be behind in your fixture programmes and this will be giving headaches not only locally but also to our National Competitions Department. Please keep Darren informed of the problems you are facing so that he can deal sympathetically with delayed fixtures - good communication is the key.

Another perennial problem that has just come to light in my own region is teachers’ inattention to the specific rules of competitions. Every season it seems that teams have to be withdrawn from our national competitions because they have (usually inadvertently) contravened the rules of the competition. Often this is to do with the eligibility of players; often players that are too young have taken part. May I urge those of you running teams to read the rules closely - this is not an onerous task. It is especially important in ‘small school’ and ‘B team’ competitions.

Having said that, our fantastic range of competitions is now reaching the interesting stage - teams have sight of reaching a national final and all the excitement that brings. I am looking forward to that busy time of year when I will be able to attend finals at wonderful venues throughout the country.

I am also looking forward to meeting this season’s Under 18 international team at Lilleshall at the end of this month. The players will receive their shirts at the International Dinner and then will play a friendly match v Loughborough Students. This is the start of a rewarding time for these young men who represent all that is good in school football. Hopefully you will be able to support them at one of their international matches later in the season - in Lincoln or Plymouth.

Happy New Year to all!

Neil Pont