To examine the support and provision for football in England, I will be researching how the sporting structure in the country helps performers from first-level elite stage through to area, county, regional and national selection. The diagram below shows the pathway a typical performer would take to reach the top level of elite representation. There is evidence to suggest that the schools in England.
have realised their importance in introducing football to children, however, not only is football offered through the PE curriculum, but schools also offer pathways into a wide range of additional opportunities for example, after-school clubs & into competition. There are soccer schools all around the country which help develop the talents of specific players, one such school is the Orpington FC Soccer School whose aim is to provide football for players of all abilities. It takes place every Saturday morning, with the school being divided into two sections: Minis (Boys & Girls) 3-5 years old and Academy (Boys & Girls) – Year 1,2 and 3.
It only costs i?? 2 per session. Well-renowned football clubs all around the country also hold soccer schools sessions to enhance the ability of performers of all ages. Arsenal Soccer Schools, held by Arsenal Football Club try to get children to “play the Arsenal way”. By guiding players through extensive training programmes, they take time to nurture and develop youngsters since 1985 and have network centres all over the world. The techniques used are the same ones senior players from Arsenal use in the training ground, developing their technical ability.
They have soccer school locations all over the country and it is at your own digression to click on the ‘course locator’ they have to find the nearest one near you. Sports Academies are also present around the country to develop performers, the HCC Football Academy (Hackney Community College Academy) have been in operation for over a year and have already won the UEFA Festival of Sport. The UK-Football Academy located in Luton, Bedfordshire ensures performers have the opportunity to be showcased via Professional Football Trials in the presence of top football scouts from the Premier League right down to the Blue Square Premier.
Their coaching is delivered by UEFA ‘A’ & ‘B’ licensed coaches; they also pride themselves in teaching ‘essential life skills’ which they believe will aid performers’ paths into professional football. County Associations are one of the fundamental pathways into supporting performers. As Appendix [1] shows, each county is represented by one member of the FA Council. Each Development Team works to provide coaching and funding to children and adults throughout their area.
Included within this sphere is the awarding of the FA Charter Standard, the development of women’s and girls’ football, the promotion of minority groups within the game and the running of a series of courses to aid coaching standards. They are also responsible for administering club and player registration as well as promoting development amongst those bodies and referees . Football’s National Governing Body – The F. A is responsible for developing and regulating the game at levels from international football to the grassroots. They invest i?? 60m into the game each year with the income mostly coming from sponsorships.
The F. A. Hat-Trick Programme delivers Community Football Development workers in the most deprived areas of the country, and they are committed to removing any barriers to people of all ethnic backgrounds playing football. The professional structure of football is important in the development of performers. The system contains a hierarchy of leagues following the principle of relegation and promotion. The advantage for performers is that teams from more prominent teams than the one they play can purchase them from their respective clubs. Talent Identification of each phase of the football performer pathway is as follows:
Phase One: (Identification of Talent) – Teenagers between 14-16 are screened within their school via a host of physical and physiological assessments, and then their results are compared against a national database, if they show evidence of surpassing the average standards, they progress onto level two. Phase Two: (Testing Stage & Selection Stage) – The screening stage continues as in Phase One but this time, the testing is more sport-specific. This phase sees if they can use the results they had in Phase One and implement them into a more sport specific environment.
If there is an indication of increased sports potential, then they will be in the ‘selection’ phase. Phase Three: (Development Stage) – Young athletes who have been identified as talented, and selected for a particular sport via testing, will be invited to participate in a talented athlete programme – the ‘development’ phase. Different clubs have different requirements to identifying talented players, e. g. TIPS – technique, intelligent, personality, speed (Ajax Football Club), TABS – technique, attitude, balance and speed (Barcelona Football Club), SUPS – speed, understanding, personality and skills (Arsenal Football Club).