A couple of weeks ago I had two phone
calls from regular readers of the column and by coincidence
both were concerned with young people in football. There is a
tremendous amount of football for young people today and
credit to those who organise it.
When I was a youth growing up in
Reading, there were only two football leagues we could play
in: the Youth League for under 16s and the Minor League for
under 18s. Both had only one division. Recently I totalled up
the number of divisions from under-9 to under-19, listed in
the Evening Post; there were seventy six. How many
teams and players that encompassed I couldn't even hazard a
guess.
Whilst eleven-a-side adult football is
on the decline, mini soccer is a growth area. As a referee
instructor I have recently been issued with material by the FA
to run courses for people who want to referee seven-a-side
matches for players under ten.
My first caller had been to watch his
grandson play in an under-1 Is cup match for his school. The
referee was a teacher from one school and his two assistants
were teachers from the other school. Apparently a little way
into the game, one of the assistants ran on to the pitch
shouting at the referee that he should have given a penalty. A
little later the same teacher went on the field
again and remonstrated with one of the players reducing him to
tears.
My phone caller thought that this was
disgraceful behaviour for any adult, let alone a teacher and
wanted to know who he could report it to. I was happy to give
him
the information. There has been a lot of talk recently, that
professional footballers should recognise that they are role
models. I think we should all remember that young children
have other role models much closer to home; like
schoolteachers; like parents. Their behaviour can influence
young players who will believe it is acceptable.
Just recently at a local under-14 game,
parents were
fighting on the touchline, actually rolling on the ground. I
am not one of those liberals who want to ban competitive sport
for children but I think we need to accept that for children,
the enjoyment of playing is the most important thing.
Which brings me to my second phone call
which was from David Downes who is responsible for welfare at
Reading FC Academy. David also lectures to many youth
organisations about child protection. When he talks to
football clubs, he points out that neglect of a young person
can mean such things as leaving a substitute on the 'bench'
for a long period in wet or cold weather,
without any protective clothing. He also tells them that young
people shouldn't be expected to play in extreme conditions. To
this the club officials always reply
that this is down to the referees.
David's query to me was, do referees
take weather conditions into consideration when deciding
whether a match should be played or not? He quoted an example
of a team who have played in the pouring rain having to travel
home some distance still in their wet clothes as the dressing
room facilities were inadequate.
When a referee decides whether or not to
play a game, he checks that the ground and the equipment, such
as goalposts, are safe. The weather comes into consideration
in the same way, for example, will a
frozen pitch be dangerous, or a waterlogged one make the game
a farce. I know of individual referees who have taken young
players off in a storm but generally the deciding factor is
safety not comfort.
It's a fine line but perhaps something
we as referees should think about. If these young people don't
find playing enjoyable, for what ever reason, then the
11-a-side game will decline even further in the future.
Dick Sawdon Smith