The quality of the pitch, the amount and quality of equiptment all has absolutely nothing to do with the level and quality of football in this country. Football is supposed to be a proper sport, where players are respected and where they are role models for younger people however what we have in this country is a bunch of thugs which make up the higher tiers of the football profession. The dives, calls for freekick, blatent lies and cheating on the pitch. It is absolutely disgraceful. Footballers should be real sportsman, with honour who act with clarity and respect themselves and their competitors. We always see them straight out swearing in front of the cameras on tv, feel free to correct me but is this not a red card offence. Its time that the professionals were sorted out not the facilities. only when some respect and sportsmanship is found within professional players will people start to want to invest in football.
Posted 21:54 7th April 2008
Tony Burton says...
I lived in Canada for over 20 years and coached football for most of them. I was also qualified to teach coaching clinics to new coaches. Now I am sure you are all aware Canada is not a hot bed for football but as a coach working with youth teams we had a ball for each player at practice. On a visit back to England a few years ago an old friend asked if I would do some training sessions with his youth team. I showed up and they had one ball for the whole group, how can you teach young players to be comfortable on the ball when they don't have one to practice with?
Posted 20:47 7th April 2008
Doug Mcdermid says...
I have 4 lads who have all played and still play local junior football in Sheffield, most pitches are of poor standard, however what I would like to know is why the junior season does not run from say April - Sept which would eliminate much of our winter, when kids have to plough through mud, rain and cold and it ends up being a case of whoever is strongest and who kicks the ball furthest wins the day - skill does not come into it on many occasions as to play "on the deck football" in our winter climate does not work ....in response to another mail commenting on the African lads ..agree but maybe their climate allows the game to be played on the ground 12 months of the year
Posted 20:45 7th April 2008
Ben Abbott says...
I recently moved to Florida and I used to play for a team in England, the pitch was not good at all. I moved here and they have the best public football pitches I've seen in my life and football isn't even a big sport in America.
Posted 20:40 7th April 2008
Steven Lambie says...
I've played at low level football since 2002 and have seen little or no improvement/maintenance on most of the pitches I've played at. We've been at places where there is a pitch like the yorkshire moors, glass and stones in the ground, and little or no changing rooms. This has gone from novel to down right dangerous particularly in council run areas where they would rather have businesses on the large open ground.
However most dangerous has been poor officials or in some cases no officials at all. I have paid £25 to sign on, and £4 a week at one club. On at least 3 occasions there have been no referee available, leading to fights amongst the teams that go on during and after the match. I am now having to quit one football team as I cannot continue playing without the protection of a proper referee.
I have played in France, Czech Republic and Spain at various times and even in the poor areas they have stable community facilities. These are funded and guarded by the local councils, and are used by everyone. They cater for multi sports and thus can continue being in use all year round. At our local park the council remove the goal posts in summer, therefore no one can use them in the better light and weather - then claim that the park is not being used enough by local kids.
It wouldn't take a genius therefore to see that there is investment needed. But this will take years now due to the neglect, and will need a culture change that will have to have the backing of schools who at present are meeting targets by cutting PE from the curriculum. I am a firm believer that sport educates and broadens horizons, football is one of the cheapest ways of doing this. I'm glad that the FA is looking to invest a vast sum, however I won't hold my breath as I suspect much of this will go to the upper echelons, where the FA will see a return. I sincerely hope I'm wrong, otherwise local clubs and leagues will die out.
Posted 20:07 7th April 2008
Michael Khan says...
I live in Ireland and play for my local club. I think about half of our matches this season have been cancelled because of water-logged pitches. It does rain a lot here but we should have better pitches to cope with the rain. I used to live in Brazi and the pitches there that are acessible to all are usually terrible. But there are some very good pitches for people that are members of clubs.
Posted 20:02 7th April 2008
? ? says...
I am currently funded by the football foundation and within Bassetlaw (Bassetlaw being within the top 5% deprevated areas in the UK with some ward areas coming into the top 1%). Over the past year within Bassetlaw i have seen a massive improverment relating to facilities through funding from the foundation. It will take time but at the end of the day at least people are recognising there is a issue with facilities and not hiding their heads in the sand. People have to be patient but i would say the application system to recieve funding needs to be made more simpler to complete.
Posted 20:01 7th April 2008
Stephen S says...
I have played since the age of 6. Played in Germany,Holland and a fare bit in this country. The standard of facilities in this country are disgraceful compared to the afore mentioned and i am talking 15-20 years ago. I coach in berkshire now and the faciities are getting better slowly.
There are major problems with the game in England. The pitch conditions are just a a joke.Grassroots football is in serious trouble Big Trev has got a lot of work to do. if he needs some help tell him to contact me. I love the game always have always will.
Posted 19:56 7th April 2008
Andy C says...
Your panel say this is a fairly new problem and indeed one of them stated they 'discovered this in 2000. My late father told me about when he took a junoir team to germany in the late fifties and it was the same back then. Their facilities were years ahead of ours. They had heated changing facilities, pitches looked after by proffesional groundstaff and the like, and this just at junior level. The problem is the same as every thing else in this country. Too much money spent on talking about it instead of doing something about it.
Posted 19:53 7th April 2008
James Williams says...
Hi I'm 14 and I play for my local football club and the pitch that we play on is awful. I almost broke my leg once. These rich footaller and teams they should provide us with some money so no one gets hurt.
Posted 19:28 7th April 2008
Stefan Hardey says...
My local football club's pitch is awful. When I was playing my foot fell in a ditch and I almost broke my foot. We need to get these pitches sorted out.
Posted 19:22 7th April 2008
Ryan Rainville says...
The fact of that matter is that a derelict pitch has nothing to do with youth quality. I highly doubt that the young African footballers taking the places of English kids at academy and club level ever played on a beautifully maintained pitch. English kids are too pampered and coddled. Computers, video games and overprotective parents who won't let their kids out of their sight are the reason there is no talent. A few hours a week of league football only teaches so much. A real touch and true talent is built in the street and having a ball at your feet night and day.
Posted 19:20 7th April 2008
Julia Alexander says...
i help with chivenor soccer school here in devon..your article on footy in holland really touched a nerve.we have just returned from there after taking 5 teams to compete in the easter open near eindhoven..near 500 teams entered..im so proud to say all our teams finished top 5..3 of them finalists and the under 13s won their cup. we were blown away by the facilities and feel the poor relations totally.Our club has top quality coaches..but we dont have our own facilities..luckily the marine base ( previously Raf ) let us use their facilities.We are desperate for a base, for tracksuits, for equip, for astro etc for our very talanted boys..wed love to have proper premises to display our trophys..(we also won the norhalen cup in denmark in 2006)..our boys really cant give us any more..they are so talented...get your cheque book out Mr Brooking coz im gonna come calling!!! please remember the westcountry when handing out this so called funding.
Posted 18:21 7th April 2008
Jackie James says...
I am the Secretary Of Chapelfields Colts JFC, We have 250 children whos ages range from 6 to 16. We are nearing the end of the football season, and once again the council hasn't done anything to maintain the pitches at Coundon Hall Park and Floyds Fields in Tanyard farm Coventry. The goal mouths are so sunken that we now have to take a broom to sweep out the water. The pitches at Floyds are un-playable due to the pot holes. Although I do still get my bill from them for using the pitches. I have new football managers approaching me to start up new teams in various age groups. But my answer to them is where are you going to play your matches? Coventry has a shortage of Junior Football Pitches there are two Junior pitches at Coundon Hall Park but no goals? Although the Council did say they would put them up? All this at a time we are constantly told to get are children out exercising.
So come on Coventry City Council do something to help us get the Children playing football next season.
Posted 18:15 7th April 2008
Kevin Lawrence says...
Why is it just England that get all this sports facilties when Scotland are left with nothing. I play for Armadale under 17s and we have not got al ot of faculties eg, pitches, floodlights, football equipment and lots of other things we don't have! So please give us a hand! Thank you!
Posted 18:11 7th April 2008
Dave Porter says...
Football offers so much to everyone and we could complain all day. The article point to comparisons with Europe. We've been watching the world overtake us for too long. Grass roots needs money and the Premiership players have loads. I'm sure we could make a major impact if the players who feed off the supporters matched some of the money with a % of their wages. How much could be matched with a small regular donation to clubs and schools from the people who benifitted and would not be there but for them.
Posted 18:05 7th April 2008
Ian Scott says...
My sons play for a local junior team who were recently voted Liverpool County FA Club of the Year. We have absolutely no facilities and our council run pitches are a joke. Like other writers we also have had to call most home games off since October last year. The pitches are free to everybody and each weekend the first job is to remove the dog dirt and then hope there are no new motorbike tracks gouged across the pitch. We have taken teams to Holland and Germany and the sports facilities are out of this world. The pitches are all fenced off and well maintained and no matter what the weather they are playable. The FA must see that all the money is going to the rich clubs and their highly paid players, they need to find a way to get it back to grass roots football. Clubs could help fund grass pitches and astro-turf so everybody could benefit.
Posted 17:53 7th April 2008
Ryan Gilmour says...
My name is Ryan Gilmour. I am 14 and I was playing football today and could hardly hit the ball for mud. It is just shocking -the state of the pitches. At the Easter weekend I was out in Spain at a football tournment and the difference of their pitches are massive. They have fair better pitches and changing rooms.
Posted 17:45 7th April 2008
Lewis Dootson says...
I am 10 years old , English , and also play for OJC Rosmalen like Nick in the film. OJC have about 10 teams in every age group in the youth section. The facilities here are great at every club we play at. I used to play in Manchester and was used to playing on mud baths where they had to clean up the dog mess before we could play. Then I had to get back in my Dads car covered in mud to go home. Here it's straight in the shower after the game , I have been known complain on a rare occasion when the changing rooms don't have under floor heating !!!!!!. All welcome to pay a visit , play a game and try out those lovely warm changing rooms.
Posted 17:34 7th April 2008
Andrew Passfield says...
I am Chairman of a local youth football club providing football for over 400 players. We play in Surrey Heath which has a known shortage of pitches, yet when I approached the local council about some land that was previously used for football pitches and offered to find the funding to return them to a playable state, the council refused to offer ANY financial support including the fact that they were not prepared to cut or mark the pitches. This is council land going to waste and yet how can we be expected to find ALL the funding without Council support and then have to take responsibility for cutting and marking - something they already subcontract out at 5 other sites.
We have an exchange team with IVO Velden in Holland (now in it's 27th year). We have them over and they invite us in alternative years. Their facilities are superb and have many pitches togther and one big new clubhouse. We play across 5 different sites - have only a wooden shed as a clubhouse and a council that refuses any financial involvement despite someone offering to find the funding independent of them. The difference in the two facilities nicely sums up the state of each nation's national team!
Your state of the game video hit the spot with me - but it's not just the Football Foundation - at least they have money and will help - what about local councils. All this talk on childhood obesity and a local council wont even commit to keep some football pitches cut and marked when someone else stumps up the ¿100,000 to return their land to a respectable playing condition. And we wonder why we will never have a winning national team.....
Comments (77)
Tom Gallagher says...
The quality of the pitch, the amount and quality of equiptment all has absolutely nothing to do with the level and quality of football in this country. Football is supposed to be a proper sport, where players are respected and where they are role models for younger people however what we have in this country is a bunch of thugs which make up the higher tiers of the football profession. The dives, calls for freekick, blatent lies and cheating on the pitch. It is absolutely disgraceful. Footballers should be real sportsman, with honour who act with clarity and respect themselves and their competitors. We always see them straight out swearing in front of the cameras on tv, feel free to correct me but is this not a red card offence. Its time that the professionals were sorted out not the facilities. only when some respect and sportsmanship is found within professional players will people start to want to invest in football.
Posted 21:54 7th April 2008
Tony Burton says...
I lived in Canada for over 20 years and coached football for most of them. I was also qualified to teach coaching clinics to new coaches. Now I am sure you are all aware Canada is not a hot bed for football but as a coach working with youth teams we had a ball for each player at practice. On a visit back to England a few years ago an old friend asked if I would do some training sessions with his youth team. I showed up and they had one ball for the whole group, how can you teach young players to be comfortable on the ball when they don't have one to practice with?
Posted 20:47 7th April 2008
Doug Mcdermid says...
I have 4 lads who have all played and still play local junior football in Sheffield, most pitches are of poor standard, however what I would like to know is why the junior season does not run from say April - Sept which would eliminate much of our winter, when kids have to plough through mud, rain and cold and it ends up being a case of whoever is strongest and who kicks the ball furthest wins the day - skill does not come into it on many occasions as to play "on the deck football" in our winter climate does not work ....in response to another mail commenting on the African lads ..agree but maybe their climate allows the game to be played on the ground 12 months of the year
Posted 20:45 7th April 2008
Ben Abbott says...
I recently moved to Florida and I used to play for a team in England, the pitch was not good at all. I moved here and they have the best public football pitches I've seen in my life and football isn't even a big sport in America.
Posted 20:40 7th April 2008
Steven Lambie says...
I've played at low level football since 2002 and have seen little or no improvement/maintenance on most of the pitches I've played at. We've been at places where there is a pitch like the yorkshire moors, glass and stones in the ground, and little or no changing rooms. This has gone from novel to down right dangerous particularly in council run areas where they would rather have businesses on the large open ground. However most dangerous has been poor officials or in some cases no officials at all. I have paid £25 to sign on, and £4 a week at one club. On at least 3 occasions there have been no referee available, leading to fights amongst the teams that go on during and after the match. I am now having to quit one football team as I cannot continue playing without the protection of a proper referee. I have played in France, Czech Republic and Spain at various times and even in the poor areas they have stable community facilities. These are funded and guarded by the local councils, and are used by everyone. They cater for multi sports and thus can continue being in use all year round. At our local park the council remove the goal posts in summer, therefore no one can use them in the better light and weather - then claim that the park is not being used enough by local kids. It wouldn't take a genius therefore to see that there is investment needed. But this will take years now due to the neglect, and will need a culture change that will have to have the backing of schools who at present are meeting targets by cutting PE from the curriculum. I am a firm believer that sport educates and broadens horizons, football is one of the cheapest ways of doing this. I'm glad that the FA is looking to invest a vast sum, however I won't hold my breath as I suspect much of this will go to the upper echelons, where the FA will see a return. I sincerely hope I'm wrong, otherwise local clubs and leagues will die out.
Posted 20:07 7th April 2008
Michael Khan says...
I live in Ireland and play for my local club. I think about half of our matches this season have been cancelled because of water-logged pitches. It does rain a lot here but we should have better pitches to cope with the rain. I used to live in Brazi and the pitches there that are acessible to all are usually terrible. But there are some very good pitches for people that are members of clubs.
Posted 20:02 7th April 2008
? ? says...
I am currently funded by the football foundation and within Bassetlaw (Bassetlaw being within the top 5% deprevated areas in the UK with some ward areas coming into the top 1%). Over the past year within Bassetlaw i have seen a massive improverment relating to facilities through funding from the foundation. It will take time but at the end of the day at least people are recognising there is a issue with facilities and not hiding their heads in the sand. People have to be patient but i would say the application system to recieve funding needs to be made more simpler to complete.
Posted 20:01 7th April 2008
Stephen S says...
I have played since the age of 6. Played in Germany,Holland and a fare bit in this country. The standard of facilities in this country are disgraceful compared to the afore mentioned and i am talking 15-20 years ago. I coach in berkshire now and the faciities are getting better slowly. There are major problems with the game in England. The pitch conditions are just a a joke.Grassroots football is in serious trouble Big Trev has got a lot of work to do. if he needs some help tell him to contact me. I love the game always have always will.
Posted 19:56 7th April 2008
Andy C says...
Your panel say this is a fairly new problem and indeed one of them stated they 'discovered this in 2000. My late father told me about when he took a junoir team to germany in the late fifties and it was the same back then. Their facilities were years ahead of ours. They had heated changing facilities, pitches looked after by proffesional groundstaff and the like, and this just at junior level. The problem is the same as every thing else in this country. Too much money spent on talking about it instead of doing something about it.
Posted 19:53 7th April 2008
James Williams says...
Hi I'm 14 and I play for my local football club and the pitch that we play on is awful. I almost broke my leg once. These rich footaller and teams they should provide us with some money so no one gets hurt.
Posted 19:28 7th April 2008
Stefan Hardey says...
My local football club's pitch is awful. When I was playing my foot fell in a ditch and I almost broke my foot. We need to get these pitches sorted out.
Posted 19:22 7th April 2008
Ryan Rainville says...
The fact of that matter is that a derelict pitch has nothing to do with youth quality. I highly doubt that the young African footballers taking the places of English kids at academy and club level ever played on a beautifully maintained pitch. English kids are too pampered and coddled. Computers, video games and overprotective parents who won't let their kids out of their sight are the reason there is no talent. A few hours a week of league football only teaches so much. A real touch and true talent is built in the street and having a ball at your feet night and day.
Posted 19:20 7th April 2008
Julia Alexander says...
i help with chivenor soccer school here in devon..your article on footy in holland really touched a nerve.we have just returned from there after taking 5 teams to compete in the easter open near eindhoven..near 500 teams entered..im so proud to say all our teams finished top 5..3 of them finalists and the under 13s won their cup. we were blown away by the facilities and feel the poor relations totally.Our club has top quality coaches..but we dont have our own facilities..luckily the marine base ( previously Raf ) let us use their facilities.We are desperate for a base, for tracksuits, for equip, for astro etc for our very talanted boys..wed love to have proper premises to display our trophys..(we also won the norhalen cup in denmark in 2006)..our boys really cant give us any more..they are so talented...get your cheque book out Mr Brooking coz im gonna come calling!!! please remember the westcountry when handing out this so called funding.
Posted 18:21 7th April 2008
Jackie James says...
I am the Secretary Of Chapelfields Colts JFC, We have 250 children whos ages range from 6 to 16. We are nearing the end of the football season, and once again the council hasn't done anything to maintain the pitches at Coundon Hall Park and Floyds Fields in Tanyard farm Coventry. The goal mouths are so sunken that we now have to take a broom to sweep out the water. The pitches at Floyds are un-playable due to the pot holes. Although I do still get my bill from them for using the pitches. I have new football managers approaching me to start up new teams in various age groups. But my answer to them is where are you going to play your matches? Coventry has a shortage of Junior Football Pitches there are two Junior pitches at Coundon Hall Park but no goals? Although the Council did say they would put them up? All this at a time we are constantly told to get are children out exercising. So come on Coventry City Council do something to help us get the Children playing football next season.
Posted 18:15 7th April 2008
Kevin Lawrence says...
Why is it just England that get all this sports facilties when Scotland are left with nothing. I play for Armadale under 17s and we have not got al ot of faculties eg, pitches, floodlights, football equipment and lots of other things we don't have! So please give us a hand! Thank you!
Posted 18:11 7th April 2008
Dave Porter says...
Football offers so much to everyone and we could complain all day. The article point to comparisons with Europe. We've been watching the world overtake us for too long. Grass roots needs money and the Premiership players have loads. I'm sure we could make a major impact if the players who feed off the supporters matched some of the money with a % of their wages. How much could be matched with a small regular donation to clubs and schools from the people who benifitted and would not be there but for them.
Posted 18:05 7th April 2008
Ian Scott says...
My sons play for a local junior team who were recently voted Liverpool County FA Club of the Year. We have absolutely no facilities and our council run pitches are a joke. Like other writers we also have had to call most home games off since October last year. The pitches are free to everybody and each weekend the first job is to remove the dog dirt and then hope there are no new motorbike tracks gouged across the pitch. We have taken teams to Holland and Germany and the sports facilities are out of this world. The pitches are all fenced off and well maintained and no matter what the weather they are playable. The FA must see that all the money is going to the rich clubs and their highly paid players, they need to find a way to get it back to grass roots football. Clubs could help fund grass pitches and astro-turf so everybody could benefit.
Posted 17:53 7th April 2008
Ryan Gilmour says...
My name is Ryan Gilmour. I am 14 and I was playing football today and could hardly hit the ball for mud. It is just shocking -the state of the pitches. At the Easter weekend I was out in Spain at a football tournment and the difference of their pitches are massive. They have fair better pitches and changing rooms.
Posted 17:45 7th April 2008
Lewis Dootson says...
I am 10 years old , English , and also play for OJC Rosmalen like Nick in the film. OJC have about 10 teams in every age group in the youth section. The facilities here are great at every club we play at. I used to play in Manchester and was used to playing on mud baths where they had to clean up the dog mess before we could play. Then I had to get back in my Dads car covered in mud to go home. Here it's straight in the shower after the game , I have been known complain on a rare occasion when the changing rooms don't have under floor heating !!!!!!. All welcome to pay a visit , play a game and try out those lovely warm changing rooms.
Posted 17:34 7th April 2008
Andrew Passfield says...
I am Chairman of a local youth football club providing football for over 400 players. We play in Surrey Heath which has a known shortage of pitches, yet when I approached the local council about some land that was previously used for football pitches and offered to find the funding to return them to a playable state, the council refused to offer ANY financial support including the fact that they were not prepared to cut or mark the pitches. This is council land going to waste and yet how can we be expected to find ALL the funding without Council support and then have to take responsibility for cutting and marking - something they already subcontract out at 5 other sites. We have an exchange team with IVO Velden in Holland (now in it's 27th year). We have them over and they invite us in alternative years. Their facilities are superb and have many pitches togther and one big new clubhouse. We play across 5 different sites - have only a wooden shed as a clubhouse and a council that refuses any financial involvement despite someone offering to find the funding independent of them. The difference in the two facilities nicely sums up the state of each nation's national team! Your state of the game video hit the spot with me - but it's not just the Football Foundation - at least they have money and will help - what about local councils. All this talk on childhood obesity and a local council wont even commit to keep some football pitches cut and marked when someone else stumps up the ¿100,000 to return their land to a respectable playing condition. And we wonder why we will never have a winning national team.....
Posted 16:55 7th April 2008