This weekend marks the return of grassroots football, with junior and youth football teams kicking off their seasons up and down the country.
Each season sees a new wave of boys and girls playing in their first organised football match and 2022/23 will be no different, with excitable Under-7s teams eager to wear their brand new kits and score plenty of goals in front of their families and friends. At this stage of their development, the only thing that is important on a matchday is that every child comes away smiling, regardless of the score.
While many will have played numerous friendlies since the beginning of July, this weekend sees the majority of leagues have their first round of fixtures played. As per FA figures from a 2021 report, 13.5 million people play football regularly in England.
Not every one of those players will be winning football trophies this season, but they are not playing for the sole purpose of winning silverware. As anyone who has ever been involved in football at the grassroots level will know, players and coaches do it for the love of the game.
Introduction to Football
Results are not recorded until the age of 12, allowing for five years’ worth of football for boys and girls to play without the pressure of looking at league tables. The natural competitive streak is there, and it shouldn’t be lost, with boys and girls eager to ‘win’ (even if the result isn’t officially recorded).
It is healthy to play to win, so long as coaches (or anyone else) do not allow the desire to win to overtake a child enjoying their football and falling in love with the game.
Some youngsters will freeze playing in an organised match, with the environment being very different from what they are used to. Good coaches will support their players and instil in them the confidence to go out and play as though no one is watching.
Others will decide that football, at least playing in a team, isn’t for them and that is okay. They aren’t letting anyone down, they are learning about themselves – football may not be for them, but there are plenty of other sports they can try instead.
Mini-Soccer Rules
Under-7s football is known as mini-soccer, with teams playing five-a-side games with FA rules stipulating that matches are to be no longer than 40 minutes in total. There is variation in local leagues around the country, though the most common format is a 40-minute game split into 10-minute quarters to allow.
The minimum number of players a team can have for a game to go ahead is four, any fewer and the game cannot be played. Rolling substitutions are used (as they are at most age groups, depending on competition rules), allowing for coaches to rotate their teams freely and to ensure every player gets plenty of game time.
FA rules also stipulate that the size of a squad can be no greater than twice the number of players allowed on the pitch for one team. This means that, at Under-7s, no team should register more than 10 players, upon the recommendation that all players should be allowed to play a minimum of 50% of the game.
Size three footballs, two sizes below that of adults (size five), are used in Under-7s football and regulation pitches measure 40×30 yards in length. Goals measure 12x6ft. In mini-soccer, there are no offsides and a retreat rule is in play, whereby all opposition players must be in their half behind the halfway line when a goal kick is taken.
Most of the rules are replicated in the Under-8s age group.
How Sports Help Children Grow
Participating in sports, not just football, helps children to grow physically and emotionally. The FA report showed that football contributed to the reduction of 213,500 cases of childhood obesity and 66,500 cases of depression and anxiety.
The same report also stated that children who play football are “more confident and more resilient than those who do not play sport”. It also adds that “children who regularly play team sports such as football are significantly happier and have higher life satisfaction than those who do not”.
Coaches are there to support the players in their team as much off the pitch as they are on it, having a responsibility to ensure that every girl and boy benefits from playing in a safe environment with positive energy.
We hope that everyone playing this weekend, whether for the first time or not, thoroughly enjoys themselves and, most importantly, comes away with a smile on their face. Good luck for the season!
