Getting into football

England

The Football Association runs the ‘Get Into Football’ scheme across the country. On this website, you can find local Community Clubs and pitches, volunteer or even get into refereeing.

There are also a number of Charter Standard Schools which run training programmes, open to boys and girls. Can find the complete list of schools here (MS Office required). There are even colleges and holiday courses available for youngsters.

For more information, get in contact with your County FA. You can search for them here.

Scotland

The Scottish Football Association runs the SFA Community Scheme for both boys and girls. You can find out more information by emailing coaching@scottishfa.co.uk.

Running between 2002 and 2010, the McDonald’s School Programme is another option for youngsters. In collaboration with the fast food chain, the FA provides coaches to roughly 1,600 Scottish primary schools and has created 600 new school teams and clubs.

At secondary school level, one option is the Bank of Scotland Midnight Leagues, which operates at both 5-a-side and 7-a-side level for 12-16 year olds.

For more information on girls’ football, contact swf@scottish-football.com.

Wales

Youth development at school level in Wales is covered by the FAW Trust. Check the website for more details.

Northern Ireland

The Irish FA is responsible for a plethora of grassroots schemes, check the special website here for more details. Notable in this regard is the Flybe George Best Excellence Programme. Named after the great Manchester United and Northern Ireland forward, the Programme revolves around six centres, with 25 boys admitted from under-12 level up to under-15.

The McDonald’s Community Scheme is also in operation in Northern Ireland, providing over 250 coaches across the whole of the country and organising an annual football festival. Contact terskine@irishfa.com for more details.