English Schools' Football Association

The English Schools' Football Association was founded in 1904 and is the governing body of schools' football in England. It is responsible for the running and development of schools competitions and festivals at primary and secondary school age.[1] The ESFA headquarters is in Stafford.

English Schools' Football Association
AbbreviationESFA
Founded1904 (1904)
Headquarters4, Parker Court
Staffordshire Technology Park
Location
Chairman
Phil Harding
Chief Executive
Andrea Chilton
Websiteschoolsfootball.org

The Football Association (FA) works with ESFA to support high quality, coordinated inter school football competition programmes for all young people.[2][3][4][5] The association run national competitions from under-11 to under-19 age groups. This provides opportunities for young people to have the experience of playing at a higher level by representing their schools in a national recognised competition with all of the finals taking place at professional stadia. In the last few seasons, the ESFA has had finals at the Etihad Stadium, Old Trafford, Anfield, Stamford Bridge, Craven Cottage, Goodison Park, the Hawthorns and even Wembley Stadium.

The ESFA's centenary year was in 2004. England Schoolboys v Rest of World was played at Aston Villa F.C. to celebrate this. The game saw over 10,000 spectators attend.

England Schoolboys and England Schoolgirls

The ESFA also co-ordinate the advancement of players all the way to International level, for England Schoolboys (Under 18) and England Schoolgirls (Under 15) teams. The process for representation follows this pattern; School teams nominate the best few players to go forward for County (or District) trials, from these a County team is formed. The County Schools' Associations will then nominate players to go forward to regional (North, Midlands, South West, South East) trials and from these players an International squad is selected.

The England Schoolboys represent their Country by playing in the Centenary Shield. Teams in the competition include England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland. The Boys also play in friendly matches and in the past they have faced New Zealand, Australia, France and Belgium.[6]

The England Schoolgirls play in the Bob Docherty Cup and the Lloyds TSB Cup. Season 2011/12 was the first time this team was run to help with the development in Girls' Football.[7]

National Schools' Football Week

Schools' Football Week is a national campaign organised by the English Schools' Football Association encouraging schools' across England to engage in footballing activities.[8] The week runs in the last week of February but had to be postponed until May in 2021 due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. The initiative was first introduced by the ESFA back in 2016 and has grown in stature and participation over the four years since its introduction [9].The Week includes an initiative called SFW GameOn! with the aim of getting as many school pupils as possible to play on one day creating the worlds biggest football match.[10] Schools Football Week 2021 saw over 8000 schools register their activity and 105,000 school pupils actively involved in the initiative. [11]


A highlight from Schools Football Week 2017 was Chris Kamara attending Lymm High School, running some coaching sessions with the pupils and answering the students questions.[12]

National competitions

Here is the list of the main competitions[13] the ESFA is currently running:

  • U11 Small Sided Competitions (Boys, Girls, Small Schools & Districts)
  • U12 Schools' Cup for Boys
  • U12 Indoor 5-a-side Cup for Boys
  • U12 Indoor 5-a-side Cup for Girls
  • U13 Schools' Cup for Boys
  • U13 Schools' Cup for Girls
  • U13 Small Schools' Cup for Boys
  • U13 Inter Association Trophy
  • U14 Inter County Trophy for Boys
  • U14 Inter County Trophy for Girls
  • U14 Schools' Cup for Boys
  • U14 Small Schools' Trophy for Boys
  • U15 Schools' Cup for Boys
  • U15 Schools' Cup for Girls
  • U15 Inter Association Trophy
  • U16 Schools' Cup for Boys
  • U16 Schools' Cup for Girls
  • U16 Inter County Trophy for Boys
  • U16 Inter County Trophy for Girls
  • U18 Schools' Trophy for Boys
  • U18 Schools' Trophy for Girls
  • U18 Inter County Trophy for Boys
  • U18 Super League for Boys
  • U18 Super League for Girls

National finals

The National Competitions Department arrange the Final venues throughout the year to ensure that the players who make it to the final are given an experience that they will never forget.

The Final Venues that the ESFA have been to in the past include:

Festivals

The ESFA also host four football festivals each year

  • The Durham Festival (Under 13)
  • The North Tyneside Festival (Under 11)
  • The Jersey Festival (Under 11)
  • The Isle of Wight Festival (Under 14)

See also

References
  1. Other Sports. "Talking Schools Sport: ESFA owe it all to a Welshman". The Telegraph. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  2. Fox, Norman (21 November 1993). "Football: Can we have our ball games back, please?: School sport is out. As Britain absorbs the impact of World Cup humiliation a crisis on our playing fields underlies a pressing need to return to basics: Norman Fox explains how national failure reflects a deeper social malaise". The Independent. Retrieved on 2012-08-13.
  3. Davies, Gareth A (29 November 2000). "Schools Football: Initative [sic] to kick-start distaff coaching scheme". The Telegraph. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  4. Judith Judd (5 October 1998). "New football academies 'block schoolboy talent' – News". The Independent. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  5. Jones, Ken (16 March 1998). "Football: Coaching the best out of the next Pele" The Independent. Retrieved on 2012-08-13.
  6. "English Schools' Football Association (ESFA) – Boys International Fixtures 2013–2014 – Under 18 Centenary Shield". ESFA. 1 September 2013. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  7. "English Schools' Football Association (ESFA) – Girls International Fixtures 2012–2013". ESFA. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  8. "Schools' Football Week: 24 – 30 May 2021". English Schools' Football Association. 15 November 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  9. "Schools' Football Week: 24 – 30 May 2021". English Schools' Football Association. 15 November 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  10. "Schools' Football Week – Game On". English Schools' Football Association. 29 November 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  11. "Schools' Football Week: 24 – 30 May 2021". English Schools' Football Association. 15 November 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  12. FA, The English Schools' (14 February 2019). "Schools football week ft. Chris Kamara". English Schools' Football Association. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  13. "English Schools' Football Association (ESFA) – Competitions – 2012–2013 Boys". ESFA. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
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