Want to play 11-a-side football but in a flexible format you can fit around your lifestyle?

Flexible Football Leagues are being introduced across the country to provide opportunities to play 11-a-side football for players who have dropped out of the game, struggle with regular weekend commitment, or just want to play football with less time and less fuss.

Background:
Football is our national sport; it remains incredibly popular with 6.6m people reporting that they play some version of the game each year. However, recent research has indicated that adult football participation is changing and in some areas traditional Saturday or Sunday formats of the game are experiencing a decline. Some players struggle to accommodate football alongside other work, family, education or leisure demands.

Many adult players who used to play in traditional formats of Saturday and Sunday football have dropped out due to age, fitness, work or family commitments. Research tells us that many retain a desire to play, but not with the commitment that was previously required of them. Many are attracted to playing games less frequently, in a reduced timeframe, with rolling subs and competing competitions that reflect their ability level, at times which will not have such an impact on family lives or other weekend leisure activities.

Staffordshire is no different to this national trend and we have successfully piloted a number of ‘flexible format’ midweek 11v11 leagues in recent years, for open-age players (16+) and veterans (35+). The feedback from the teams who have participated in these leagues has been extremely positive and we’re now looking to roll out more midweek leagues across the county to cater for those players who cannot commit to playing football on the weekend.

EXAMPLE FORMAT:

• Central Venue 3G pitch
• 60-minute Games
• Fortnightly Fixtures
• 8-team League
• Cup & Shield Competition
• FA Qualified Referees
• Repeat Substitutions
• Unlimited Squad Size
• Shorter Seasons
• Minimal Administration
• Minimal Costs

FRIDAY NIGHT FLEXI-FOOTBALL IN STAFFORDSHIRE:

We currently have a n umber of flexible format 11-a-side leagues taking place across Staffordshire. All of these leagues take place on a Friday evening, mainly due to the limited availability of 3G pitches on other nights of the week, but the end of the ‘working week’ slot has also proved to be popular with many players. The leagues have proved to be particularly popular with workplace teams, groups of friends, and teams who may have folded in recent years.