Hi, I'm 14 years old and I live in Millerston, Glasgow. In my area there is one football pitch but it is shocking. There are big holes in the middle of the pitch and there's glass on the goalline and also the goals are all rusty and slope upwards at one side. My friends and I were told by a police officer who stopped us he'd see what he could do and he'd be back in the next three weeks and that was last year and we've not heard anything.
Posted 16:05 7th April 2008
Luke Wise says...
Hi, i think that there should be more places for children, teenagers etc to play football and other sports that they enjoy. Outside my bedroom windown their is a massive car park for some factory place and everyday there is hardly no cars parked their, it could be turfed over and made into a small football loacal team. It would be great and full of players as me and my freinds are playing on the streets at the moment and want somewhere new and safe to play ... Please help Sky Sports Please ... And all the other football players out there that are pocket fulled with money give back a little of what you have earned please :) From Luke ... XD
Posted 16:00 7th April 2008
Scott Jolley says...
I play for an under 14s team in Altrincham, near Manchester.The state of the pitches i play on arent that bad, (if you dont include the dog mess) but they do lack changing rooms, a club house or dugouts. I go to Blessed Thomas Holford (the school where England trained) and my club pays 10,000 pounds a year to train on that pitch and this only covers 10 or so teams. and that is only from early december through to the end of march, the rest of the season this facility is empty, i think the local FA should part fund these facilities for the rest of the season. I think its a disgrace that the country that brought the world the Beautiful game has fallen so far behind. In Holland were my school went for a trip they have groundsmen and dugouts with male and female changing rooms. We as the country who invented the game should take the lead role in setting the standards of grassroots football worldwide.
Posted 15:47 7th April 2008
Ryan Scroggie says...
im 12 nd play football nd i think it gives players a huge boost playin on a decent pitch with decent facilitites everyone is talkin about too many foreign players in premier league if you look at the facilities abroad nd then you look at the facilities here we dont stand a chance the fa is all talk and no action thanks please read mine out
Posted 15:32 7th April 2008
Alex Pleau says...
where i live in the States, any of our youth leagues play at middle schools or colleges now. the fields are decent during the summer, and couldnt imagine playing on a field as bad as some of you have described. i used to play on a grass field next to a seweage plant when i was younger! i just dont see how the football pitches can be that bad across the pond. most people don't take football seriously over here and from what i've heard so far, we play on top tier fields compared to you guys.
in the youth leagues, each player pays a certain amount of money at the beginning of the season, and that pays for field space. the leagues have to rent any field they want to use, i'd imagine it's the same over in England?
Posted 15:27 7th April 2008
Luke Murtagh says...
hi, i am an A level student for advanced Physical Education and i have recently finished coursework which was titled 'Local and National provision in the UK'. the opening section of the coursework is based on grassroots develoment and funding. in my research i never found an amount estimating how much 'sportengland' paid and contributed towards this area and any of the other main lottery funds and so on. talking about facilities was not easy, but im sure if i was in Holland writing about this would be much easier.
Posted 15:03 7th April 2008
Dave Porter says...
It is not just Holland - Go on holiday and you'll see sports facilities everywhere. We need to focus on providing opportunities for everyone to play. Why don't the 'RICH' players / clubs all adopt a school and donate funds to the PE departments one weeks wages would fund so much activity for years in some cases. Maybe the funding would contribute to the nextworld cup winners !!!!
Posted 14:45 7th April 2008
Anthony Murray says...
The sports facilities all over england are terrible in loads of places, i have played for semi-professional teams and sunday teams and i have seen terrible pitches and pitches with a changing room as big as your toilet at home. apart from money being put into maintain these facilities to a good standard we need to have people of the local communities and football clubs just helping to cut the the grass, paint the changing rooms etc . just these little things which can make a difference. but apart from that more money needs to be put into getting facilities which will allow kids to get time to play in. when i was growing up i was lucky to even play in Paddington Recreation ground, now the sports centre is always booked up by businesses who play in their on football league. more monet has to be invested not just in facilities but into coaches so that they can be pushed up to a higher levels because the fee's are to expensive or they are far away. in the english game people think to much about filling up their own back pocket instead of doing something for the love of football
Posted 14:44 7th April 2008
Alexander Craik says...
I am 16 and have lived in the South of France since I was born. When I was younger pitches weren't great but in the space of about 8 years every single club in the region had a new synthetic/astro turf pitch, high standard locker rooms and equipment.
All this makes children better and encourages a high standard of football and coaching. It also makes you want to go and train twice a week. All this talk about synthetic pitches is rubbish, the bounce is fine and actually helps make the game faster.
The FA should take note of what France,Holland and other countries have done to make the UK a better place to start playing football!
Posted 14:41 7th April 2008
Dave Porter says...
As a PE teacher I despair at the continual negative comments about health, behaviour and the skill levels of our students. Not surprising given the state of their facilities. It is so hard to find funding even when you have set up a club. We have a government that talk a lot but do little and what is done is wrapped up very carefully in lots of red tape. Councils should be forced to keep sporting clubs and public facilities up too a high standard. Surely we'd save on health and behaviour standards.
Posted 14:37 7th April 2008
Stuart Martin says...
The state of the youth and amateur game in Scotland seems to mirror the current experiences in the English youth and amateur game. It seems obvious to most individuals that play the game at lower levels that the money that is being spent by clubs in the top leagues in terms of the transfer fees and wages could be put to better use elsewhere. For me this is the route of the problem, one weeks wages of a top premiership footballer would cover the costs of running an amateur football league, improve the standard of pitches and refurbish changing room facilities that would last for a considerable period of time. (Instead of the player having 9 top of the range cars in his drive)
The money being spent in recent years has lead to a number of individuals being unwilling to pay the admission fees due to their knowledge that the money is being put into the pockets of the individuals in the game that need it the least. There is no real way that the average supporter can relate to the current premiership footballer with the current money being earned. It is my belief that a total revamp of the premierships wage structures has to occur for a change in the state of the grass route game. If for example a wage cap was introduced (even 50k per week) the excess money could be invested back into improving facilities throughout the game. This could be done in the form of the Premiership, Championship and Spl clubs sponsoring the majority of the youth leagues within their surrounding areas helping finance improvements to their facilities. For example, a single premiership player earning 100,000 per week would offer 52 amateur leagues in the surrounding an extra 50,000 to improve facilities if wage cap policy was adopted. This redirection of money would I¿m sure help the average football supporter feel like they may get some extra return for their admission money.
Posted 14:18 7th April 2008
Barry Emms says...
My son, who is English and living in Spain plays in the Federation of Malaga League. His tean trains 3 nights a week on a superb pitch in a 3rd division team's stadium which is used by teams of all ages.
He plays away from home on the same standard of facilities including changing facilities. The boys travel by coach and all haave to wear their team tracksuits on match days...that goes for all the teams in the league.
They are treated like professionals and guess what? This combination of great pitches, training, changing rooms and mental attidute makes them better players!
Posted 13:55 7th April 2008
Patrick Smalley says...
Instead of complaining of poor or non-existent facilities without questioning where the money is to come from, clubs should be active and create their own. When playing in a primary school team in Leicester nearly 60 years ago, we had reasonable education committee pitches but changed in a cold dark WWII air-raid shelter without any heating, lights or water. A local newspaper even reported the scandal but we were happy to play and had teachers who gave up their Saturday morning.
It is strange that players in Cities expect facilities whereas village teams arrange or even build their own. When playing in Germany 20 years later facilities were much better and clubs built their own club houses rather like Rugby clubs had done in the UK for decades. It can`t be right to expect free facilities. I have played on poor pitches with facilities to match in eastern Europe and experienced the tremendous enthusiasm of the really underprivileged. Poor pitches can produce top stars with top control, get out lads and do it yourself!
Posted 13:43 7th April 2008
Stoll Michael says...
Although I agree that sports facilities, including local football pitches, need improving and that this may have a direct correlation to the quality of young English talent coming through the ranks - I do feel that this is an excuse heard all too often when the national team do not perform well. How do the Brazilians manage to keep churning out world beaters, I dont imagine they have the best facilities in the world? Lets not forget that it takes dedication and motivation to succeed as a professional footballer.
Posted 13:18 7th April 2008
Pauline Mcsweenie says...
So little money going into grass roots yet we can afford to pay England managers past and present vast sums of money - yet we haven't won anything. Put the money in grass roots then pay those at the top on a success scheme. How much do those sat in plush offices at the FA & Leagues get paid - they don't have to put up with second rate or run down facilities!
Posted 12:56 7th April 2008
Mark Brookes says...
I started managing an under 11 team on the Isle of Wight at the start of this season. My idea of managing a team was for the kids to get out on the field, have a good run around and generally enjoy themselves. Maybe some of them would end up having a genuine talent, but, hopefully, most would foster a love for the game and enjoy the competitive exercise.
However, the red tape I encountered was nothing short of ridiculous. Once I was fined ¿15 for putting the date on the team sheet. There are fines imposed for the most ridiculous things and where is the money supposed to come from to pay them? All in all, in the first 6 weeks of the league the FA fined me a total of ¿130, this had to come out of my own personal cash. This could have been avoided had there been some sort of support and initiation for new managers as all of the fines were for clerical errors. Owing to the financial pressures I have had to disband the team, leaving 14 players of varying abilities, without a team to play for. Yes, the good ones will get snapped up quickly, but the average players won't get a look in. Are the FA happy that these children will be spending their Sunday mornings indoors playing computer games when they could have been running about on a football pitch?
Junior football shouldn't be about penny pinching and fines for making a spelling mistake or not putting the team in alphabetical order on the team sheet. It should be about encouraging kids to get out on the park. There are many managers here, on the Isle of Wight, who have given up managing and coaching youth football because of the ridiculous amount of red tape involved.
Posted 12:44 7th April 2008
Zeus Dormer says...
I cannot see why this is a topic worth discussing. Why do we need so called facilities at a grass roots level. I live in sweden, youngsters play on gravel pitches for the most part all year round, only clubs representing towns have grass pitches. The swedes still beat the English. The state of russian and Croation pitches are probably not much better for the majority of the youngsters, they still beat England. Facilities and made to feel like a superstar at the age of nine does nothing to enhance football. If you want England to do better in the future then maybe we should hail footballers like Scholes and Ian Wright who played for the most part as a youngster in the streets, kicking a ball up against a garage door, without the threat of an ASBO because Mrs Slack-Bottom just cant hear her Jazz musak on the radio beacause little Timmy persists on playing football in the alley with his mates. What a racket, what a din, Dizzy Gilespie sounds off somewhat with the odd miss timed beat banging on the wheelybin outside, tut, must call the filth.
All the youngsters of England, rize up against buzy bodies who have really wrecked grass roots football in this country. Get your footballs out and slice them through their windows, remind them that playing football in the streets isnt the Blitz and to shape up and get real.
Posted 12:44 7th April 2008
Danny Ryan says...
Whilst I was at college, we were one of the unfortunate few that didn't offer an enrichment programme. A lot of colleges set Wednesday as a free period across the board and the option of sport was there. However, I don't think it was too beneficial as a ball and a sports hall isn't so attractive in all honesty. It needs to be taken seriously from top to bottom, and if the activity was formailised somehow, it may be more succesful. Schools and colleges do work with small clubs, but I think young players feel patronised at times when pro coaches come in and do basic skills training with people who have taken time out to put themselves in the spotlight, not be made to feel like a novice.
Posted 12:44 7th April 2008
Damian Scowcroft says...
im 14 and i play for glossop north end fc, and most of the games are called of because of the pitch and if the FA are going on about how not many english players are coming through...well there u go!!!!
Posted 12:39 7th April 2008
Graeme Curtis says...
I played football through my school years, having to stop due to the fact no one was willing to take the team, but that's another story... The conditions in Scotland are shocking. I support St Mirren and I read last week that two of our players were cut by glass while training. So the problem - at least in Scotland - dosen't just lie within Grassroots, the proffessional teams suffer too. My local pitches are now being overrun by a railway link to the aiport. This is taking out a number of pitches and taking away the chance for youngsters to play. Very dissappointing.
Comments (77)
Gary Kerr says...
Hi, I'm 14 years old and I live in Millerston, Glasgow. In my area there is one football pitch but it is shocking. There are big holes in the middle of the pitch and there's glass on the goalline and also the goals are all rusty and slope upwards at one side. My friends and I were told by a police officer who stopped us he'd see what he could do and he'd be back in the next three weeks and that was last year and we've not heard anything.
Posted 16:05 7th April 2008
Luke Wise says...
Hi, i think that there should be more places for children, teenagers etc to play football and other sports that they enjoy. Outside my bedroom windown their is a massive car park for some factory place and everyday there is hardly no cars parked their, it could be turfed over and made into a small football loacal team. It would be great and full of players as me and my freinds are playing on the streets at the moment and want somewhere new and safe to play ... Please help Sky Sports Please ... And all the other football players out there that are pocket fulled with money give back a little of what you have earned please :) From Luke ... XD
Posted 16:00 7th April 2008
Scott Jolley says...
I play for an under 14s team in Altrincham, near Manchester.The state of the pitches i play on arent that bad, (if you dont include the dog mess) but they do lack changing rooms, a club house or dugouts. I go to Blessed Thomas Holford (the school where England trained) and my club pays 10,000 pounds a year to train on that pitch and this only covers 10 or so teams. and that is only from early december through to the end of march, the rest of the season this facility is empty, i think the local FA should part fund these facilities for the rest of the season. I think its a disgrace that the country that brought the world the Beautiful game has fallen so far behind. In Holland were my school went for a trip they have groundsmen and dugouts with male and female changing rooms. We as the country who invented the game should take the lead role in setting the standards of grassroots football worldwide.
Posted 15:47 7th April 2008
Ryan Scroggie says...
im 12 nd play football nd i think it gives players a huge boost playin on a decent pitch with decent facilitites everyone is talkin about too many foreign players in premier league if you look at the facilities abroad nd then you look at the facilities here we dont stand a chance the fa is all talk and no action thanks please read mine out
Posted 15:32 7th April 2008
Alex Pleau says...
where i live in the States, any of our youth leagues play at middle schools or colleges now. the fields are decent during the summer, and couldnt imagine playing on a field as bad as some of you have described. i used to play on a grass field next to a seweage plant when i was younger! i just dont see how the football pitches can be that bad across the pond. most people don't take football seriously over here and from what i've heard so far, we play on top tier fields compared to you guys. in the youth leagues, each player pays a certain amount of money at the beginning of the season, and that pays for field space. the leagues have to rent any field they want to use, i'd imagine it's the same over in England?
Posted 15:27 7th April 2008
Luke Murtagh says...
hi, i am an A level student for advanced Physical Education and i have recently finished coursework which was titled 'Local and National provision in the UK'. the opening section of the coursework is based on grassroots develoment and funding. in my research i never found an amount estimating how much 'sportengland' paid and contributed towards this area and any of the other main lottery funds and so on. talking about facilities was not easy, but im sure if i was in Holland writing about this would be much easier.
Posted 15:03 7th April 2008
Dave Porter says...
It is not just Holland - Go on holiday and you'll see sports facilities everywhere. We need to focus on providing opportunities for everyone to play. Why don't the 'RICH' players / clubs all adopt a school and donate funds to the PE departments one weeks wages would fund so much activity for years in some cases. Maybe the funding would contribute to the nextworld cup winners !!!!
Posted 14:45 7th April 2008
Anthony Murray says...
The sports facilities all over england are terrible in loads of places, i have played for semi-professional teams and sunday teams and i have seen terrible pitches and pitches with a changing room as big as your toilet at home. apart from money being put into maintain these facilities to a good standard we need to have people of the local communities and football clubs just helping to cut the the grass, paint the changing rooms etc . just these little things which can make a difference. but apart from that more money needs to be put into getting facilities which will allow kids to get time to play in. when i was growing up i was lucky to even play in Paddington Recreation ground, now the sports centre is always booked up by businesses who play in their on football league. more monet has to be invested not just in facilities but into coaches so that they can be pushed up to a higher levels because the fee's are to expensive or they are far away. in the english game people think to much about filling up their own back pocket instead of doing something for the love of football
Posted 14:44 7th April 2008
Alexander Craik says...
I am 16 and have lived in the South of France since I was born. When I was younger pitches weren't great but in the space of about 8 years every single club in the region had a new synthetic/astro turf pitch, high standard locker rooms and equipment. All this makes children better and encourages a high standard of football and coaching. It also makes you want to go and train twice a week. All this talk about synthetic pitches is rubbish, the bounce is fine and actually helps make the game faster. The FA should take note of what France,Holland and other countries have done to make the UK a better place to start playing football!
Posted 14:41 7th April 2008
Dave Porter says...
As a PE teacher I despair at the continual negative comments about health, behaviour and the skill levels of our students. Not surprising given the state of their facilities. It is so hard to find funding even when you have set up a club. We have a government that talk a lot but do little and what is done is wrapped up very carefully in lots of red tape. Councils should be forced to keep sporting clubs and public facilities up too a high standard. Surely we'd save on health and behaviour standards.
Posted 14:37 7th April 2008
Stuart Martin says...
The state of the youth and amateur game in Scotland seems to mirror the current experiences in the English youth and amateur game. It seems obvious to most individuals that play the game at lower levels that the money that is being spent by clubs in the top leagues in terms of the transfer fees and wages could be put to better use elsewhere. For me this is the route of the problem, one weeks wages of a top premiership footballer would cover the costs of running an amateur football league, improve the standard of pitches and refurbish changing room facilities that would last for a considerable period of time. (Instead of the player having 9 top of the range cars in his drive) The money being spent in recent years has lead to a number of individuals being unwilling to pay the admission fees due to their knowledge that the money is being put into the pockets of the individuals in the game that need it the least. There is no real way that the average supporter can relate to the current premiership footballer with the current money being earned. It is my belief that a total revamp of the premierships wage structures has to occur for a change in the state of the grass route game. If for example a wage cap was introduced (even 50k per week) the excess money could be invested back into improving facilities throughout the game. This could be done in the form of the Premiership, Championship and Spl clubs sponsoring the majority of the youth leagues within their surrounding areas helping finance improvements to their facilities. For example, a single premiership player earning 100,000 per week would offer 52 amateur leagues in the surrounding an extra 50,000 to improve facilities if wage cap policy was adopted. This redirection of money would I¿m sure help the average football supporter feel like they may get some extra return for their admission money.
Posted 14:18 7th April 2008
Barry Emms says...
My son, who is English and living in Spain plays in the Federation of Malaga League. His tean trains 3 nights a week on a superb pitch in a 3rd division team's stadium which is used by teams of all ages. He plays away from home on the same standard of facilities including changing facilities. The boys travel by coach and all haave to wear their team tracksuits on match days...that goes for all the teams in the league. They are treated like professionals and guess what? This combination of great pitches, training, changing rooms and mental attidute makes them better players!
Posted 13:55 7th April 2008
Patrick Smalley says...
Instead of complaining of poor or non-existent facilities without questioning where the money is to come from, clubs should be active and create their own. When playing in a primary school team in Leicester nearly 60 years ago, we had reasonable education committee pitches but changed in a cold dark WWII air-raid shelter without any heating, lights or water. A local newspaper even reported the scandal but we were happy to play and had teachers who gave up their Saturday morning. It is strange that players in Cities expect facilities whereas village teams arrange or even build their own. When playing in Germany 20 years later facilities were much better and clubs built their own club houses rather like Rugby clubs had done in the UK for decades. It can`t be right to expect free facilities. I have played on poor pitches with facilities to match in eastern Europe and experienced the tremendous enthusiasm of the really underprivileged. Poor pitches can produce top stars with top control, get out lads and do it yourself!
Posted 13:43 7th April 2008
Stoll Michael says...
Although I agree that sports facilities, including local football pitches, need improving and that this may have a direct correlation to the quality of young English talent coming through the ranks - I do feel that this is an excuse heard all too often when the national team do not perform well. How do the Brazilians manage to keep churning out world beaters, I dont imagine they have the best facilities in the world? Lets not forget that it takes dedication and motivation to succeed as a professional footballer.
Posted 13:18 7th April 2008
Pauline Mcsweenie says...
So little money going into grass roots yet we can afford to pay England managers past and present vast sums of money - yet we haven't won anything. Put the money in grass roots then pay those at the top on a success scheme. How much do those sat in plush offices at the FA & Leagues get paid - they don't have to put up with second rate or run down facilities!
Posted 12:56 7th April 2008
Mark Brookes says...
I started managing an under 11 team on the Isle of Wight at the start of this season. My idea of managing a team was for the kids to get out on the field, have a good run around and generally enjoy themselves. Maybe some of them would end up having a genuine talent, but, hopefully, most would foster a love for the game and enjoy the competitive exercise. However, the red tape I encountered was nothing short of ridiculous. Once I was fined ¿15 for putting the date on the team sheet. There are fines imposed for the most ridiculous things and where is the money supposed to come from to pay them? All in all, in the first 6 weeks of the league the FA fined me a total of ¿130, this had to come out of my own personal cash. This could have been avoided had there been some sort of support and initiation for new managers as all of the fines were for clerical errors. Owing to the financial pressures I have had to disband the team, leaving 14 players of varying abilities, without a team to play for. Yes, the good ones will get snapped up quickly, but the average players won't get a look in. Are the FA happy that these children will be spending their Sunday mornings indoors playing computer games when they could have been running about on a football pitch? Junior football shouldn't be about penny pinching and fines for making a spelling mistake or not putting the team in alphabetical order on the team sheet. It should be about encouraging kids to get out on the park. There are many managers here, on the Isle of Wight, who have given up managing and coaching youth football because of the ridiculous amount of red tape involved.
Posted 12:44 7th April 2008
Zeus Dormer says...
I cannot see why this is a topic worth discussing. Why do we need so called facilities at a grass roots level. I live in sweden, youngsters play on gravel pitches for the most part all year round, only clubs representing towns have grass pitches. The swedes still beat the English. The state of russian and Croation pitches are probably not much better for the majority of the youngsters, they still beat England. Facilities and made to feel like a superstar at the age of nine does nothing to enhance football. If you want England to do better in the future then maybe we should hail footballers like Scholes and Ian Wright who played for the most part as a youngster in the streets, kicking a ball up against a garage door, without the threat of an ASBO because Mrs Slack-Bottom just cant hear her Jazz musak on the radio beacause little Timmy persists on playing football in the alley with his mates. What a racket, what a din, Dizzy Gilespie sounds off somewhat with the odd miss timed beat banging on the wheelybin outside, tut, must call the filth. All the youngsters of England, rize up against buzy bodies who have really wrecked grass roots football in this country. Get your footballs out and slice them through their windows, remind them that playing football in the streets isnt the Blitz and to shape up and get real.
Posted 12:44 7th April 2008
Danny Ryan says...
Whilst I was at college, we were one of the unfortunate few that didn't offer an enrichment programme. A lot of colleges set Wednesday as a free period across the board and the option of sport was there. However, I don't think it was too beneficial as a ball and a sports hall isn't so attractive in all honesty. It needs to be taken seriously from top to bottom, and if the activity was formailised somehow, it may be more succesful. Schools and colleges do work with small clubs, but I think young players feel patronised at times when pro coaches come in and do basic skills training with people who have taken time out to put themselves in the spotlight, not be made to feel like a novice.
Posted 12:44 7th April 2008
Damian Scowcroft says...
im 14 and i play for glossop north end fc, and most of the games are called of because of the pitch and if the FA are going on about how not many english players are coming through...well there u go!!!!
Posted 12:39 7th April 2008
Graeme Curtis says...
I played football through my school years, having to stop due to the fact no one was willing to take the team, but that's another story... The conditions in Scotland are shocking. I support St Mirren and I read last week that two of our players were cut by glass while training. So the problem - at least in Scotland - dosen't just lie within Grassroots, the proffessional teams suffer too. My local pitches are now being overrun by a railway link to the aiport. This is taking out a number of pitches and taking away the chance for youngsters to play. Very dissappointing.
Posted 12:34 7th April 2008