Written by: James Grocott
For many people, football is seen as the backbone of our society and has been for over a hundred years. Clubs up and down the country create fantastic opportunities for children to play from as early as five or even four years old. This is the first step for any football enthusiast; it develops their skills and generates a love of our country’s national sport.
This development is undoubtedly aided by the FA’s youth league system. Starting at under 7s, the format allows children to start playing regular competitive football at six years old. This begins with 5v5, designed to develop children’s technical ability and understanding of the game. The number of players per team increases by two every other year, leading to the regular 11v11 format at under 13s. This gradual change allows children to grow with the game and prepares them for 11v11.
FA announce changes
The FA announced they would be changing this format at the end of 2024 and subsequently gave further details last month. They plan to introduce 3v3 football at under 7s before starting 5v5 a year later, at under 8s. After that, it will continue in the old format. The goal of this change is to give children more time on the ball and increased time on the pitch.
However, the reality of this change is likely to be the opposite. Decreasing the number of players per team to 3 arguably removes two players’ worth of playing time. Though this may sound obvious it does have two potential consequences. It could, like the FA says, give players more time on the pitch and with the ball, helping their technical growth. However, it may also force clubs to create more teams or force them to restrict how many players they can bring on.
This will have many effects on children across the country. For example, Grappenhall’s under 7s, there are 44 players split into six teams of around seven or eight. There are usually two coaches per team, working out at 12 coaches across the six teams.
By changing the format to 3v3, those six teams will have to become eight. This means the club will need four more coaches. These coaches will be volunteer parents from the same pool as before. Grappenhall club secretary Mark Trimble says: “It’s actually quite difficult to get volunteers”. If finding another four coaches is not possible, that will then prevent the creation of two new teams. Potentially stopping many children from playing.
A club like Grappenhall is fortunate because we have our own land and our own pitches.” Other teams won’t have the luxury of having their own land to host games.
Trimble also says that the change will also directly affect the grassroots clubs themselves. By creating two more pitches, that creates two more games being played at the same time as the six already. “A club like Grappenhall is fortunate because we have our own land and our own pitches.” Other teams won’t have the luxury of having their own land to host games. Many clubs book out pitches. The demand is already extremely high for pitches, being full most Saturdays to accommodate the current format. If every club has two more teams, it becomes almost impossible to ensure every team plays. There just aren’t enough pitches.
The FA has yet to inform clubs of any equipment changes that will come with the new 3v3 format. If there are changes such as new goals or new pitches, this will cost the clubs more money to pay for this equipment. “It doesn’t seem like the FA consulted any grassroots clubs,” Trimble said. And it shows. It is easy to see the thought behind the idea: to get children on the ball more. But there seem to be several knock-on effects not considered. Like how much of a negative it will be on grassroots clubs. Most importantly, it can easily become counterproductive if it restricts the amount of players a club can bring in.
The repercussions could be severe
With the changes already announced, the best thing to do is to help the grassroots clubs. If you’re a parent, perhaps now is the time to volunteer to coach; it may become the only way your child can play regular football. If you lack the skills as many of us do, you can easily help the clubs raise money for potential spending following the change through fundraising or donating.
Overall, whilst the intentions behind the change come from a good place. To improve technical skills and create the next generation of English talent. The repercussions for grassroots clubs could be severe.
