Thread: FA bans under-eights from giving football scores to newspapers

From the Daily Mail: You don't know the score: FA bans under-eights from giving football scores to newspapers...because it makes children competitive

More PC madness!

David Beckham would have read about his exploits on the pitch in the local paper when he was a budding young footballer.

But thanks to a controversial new FA ruling, the latest generation of child soccer stars won't be able to proudly read their results in the press in case it makes them too competitive.

FA regulations state teams at under-nine level should not be ranked in a table, though scores of individual matches can be known.

As a result of the crackdown, stunned managers of under-seven and under-eight teams in the Hunts Mini-Soccer League in Cambridgeshire have been banned from giving scores to the press.

The league website lists the weekend scores for teams at older age groups, but simply states 'played' for the younger ages.

A league spokesman said they were simply following FA guidelines.

Scott Ager, who managed Priory Parkside under-9A last season, branded the ruling 'politically correct madness'.

Mr Ager, 38, said: 'I find it bizarre. It seems to me to work against talented players, as the teams who may lose heavily are likely to be ones with players who just play for a bit of fun.

'It is very frustrating. Kids put all this effort in but there is no reward.'

He added: 'It is also difficult for managers and parents to gauge who to play their sides against.

'If teams are matched up fairly I see no reason why they shouldn't publish the scores.'

Mr Ager was blasted by Huntingdonshire FA in May when he claimed his side had won the league.

'All the other managers in the league acknowledged that we had been the best team as we had won the most games,' he said.

'Football is our national sport yet there are some strange rules around it.'

Andy Szczepanski, whose son plays for Brampton Spartans under-eights, said: 'I understand where they are coming from but I also think there is a need for competition.

'It will make it more difficult for managers trying to arrange friendlies against sides of a similar standard because without seeing results there is no frame of reference.'

Another manager wrote in his match report to local paper The Hunts Post: 'The children adore reading it [match reports] and it genuinely thrills them.

'The local press is an enormous part of the community and we hope these reports encourage these children to read, and maybe read a bit more.'

Hundreds of youngsters aged seven and eight play youth football in Huntingdonshire every weekend from September through until May, with many five- and six-a-side tournaments held in the summer.

The FA's 2008/09 handbook states: 'Under-sevens or under-eights are not permitted to play in leagues where results are collected or published or winner trophies are presented.

'This is deemed to be detrimental to the development of the player and the game and will not be sanctioned.

'To play in a KO cup game or a game where points are awarded or results collected, a player must have achieved the age of eight on or before August 31.'

A national FA spokesman said: 'The thought behind the guidelines is that children should be playing for enjoyment rather than having the pressure of winning.

'The individual matches themselves should not be uncompetitive.'

He said the guidelines could be rolled out to higher age groups.