from next season u7s and u8s will be allowed to play ‘competitive’ games for a maximum total of six weeks during the season. With the blessing of National Football Development Manager Nick Levett, kids in the ELFA have been trialling this idea already. Just before Christmas the u7s and u8s had their ?rst taste of competitive football in a mini trophy event. All the teams played a round robin series of games with the group winners meeting in ?nals.
The competition was structured so that all the kids played exactly the same number of games regardless of how far their team progressed. “The minicompetitions proved a great success,” said ELFA Football Development O?cer Peter Thornton. “The kids put in 100% every week playing development football so there was no di?erence there. But we were heartened by the response of coaches and parents who did not put any extra pressure on them.”