The ESFA is delighted to announce that the draws for the 2023/24 National Competitions are now live! With over 7,400 teams entering ESFA National Cup Competitions, it’s going to be another huge year of schools’ football, with over 115,000 pupils from all over England competing to be crowned National Champions.
The 2023/24 schools’ football season is about to get underway and draws for the PlayStation Schools’ Cup (U12- U15) and the Arnold Clark Schools’ Cup (U16-U18) along with all ESFA District and County Cup competitions, are now live on the ESFA Website. Schools can click the button above or sign into their ESFA account here to see who they will face in the opening rounds and Associations can login to the portal to see who they face in the new season. The ESFA has continued to see their schools’ cup competition entry numbers rise year on year, with the 23/24 season’s 7,400+ entries looking to equal the record-breaking 22/23, equating to over 115,000 players taking part. This includes over 2500 girls’ teams, meaning around 34,000 girls will take part in Schools’ Cup competitions this year – a record number for participation in the girls’ game, for the third consecutive season!
“Kick off” emails have been sent out to all participating schools, including full information on competition rules and ESFA handbooks will be distributed to participating schools in the coming days. In the meantime, deadline dates for planning fixtures in the 2022/23 season can be found here and they are also available to view on the ESFA fixtures page. Competing Team Managers should be sure to add these dates to their diary, ready to begin arranging fixtures with drawn opponents for any point prior to the stated dates.
If you want to get involved in the biggest ever Schools’ Football season – it’s not too late! There are a number of late entry places available in all of the ESFA’s Schools’ Cup competitions – but only until Friday 10 September. Click here to register your team or email [email protected] to get involved.
PlayStation Schools’ Cup
The PlayStation Schools’ Cup (PSSC) covers ESFA National Competitions from U12 to U15 and provides amazing opportunities for players up and down the country to get involved in PlayStation Schools’ Cup activity, both on and off the pitch. A highlight of last season’s activity was the PlayStation Schools’ Cup FIFA 23 championships which culminated in 32 boys and 32 girls playing in a round robin FIFA Tournament alongside the football finals at West Bromwich Albion in May. Check out the ESFA (@schoolsfootball) and PlayStation Schools Cup channels (@Psschoolscup) to stay up to date with the amazing opportunities schools can get involved in this season!
Arnold Clark Schools’ Cup
The ESFA is delighted to announce that a new sponsor has been secured for the Association’s U16 – U18 National Schools’ Cup competitions – we are pleased to announce that these competitions will now become the Arnold Clark Schools’ Cup as of the 2023/24 season.
The new sponsorship from Arnold Clark will continue to help grow the recognition of the competitions across England, provide the ESFA with a new partnership to promote and branding to elevate these National Cups to a new level. The ESFA’s U16 – U18 Schools’ Cup and Super League competitions have been a platform on which a consistently high level of footballing activity, for thousands of teenagers in England each year, has been showcased and the Association is keen to now align this activity with Arnold Clark from 2023 onwards.
ESFA Representative Cup Competitions
The Association is delighted that the District and County National Cup competitions have also kicked off this week for the 23/24 season. These competitions have seen a increase in entries compared to previous years and there will be much at stake for the players selected to represent their home towns and counties this season.
Social Media – Stay up to date and share your stories!
Don’t forget to share your opening round draw on social media by tagging your opponents and @schoolsfootball using the #SchoolsFootball, #PSSchoolsCup (for U12 – U15 competitions) and #arnoldclarkschoolscup hashtags. Keep us involved in your fixtures throughout the schools’ football season by tagging us in your results and let us help celebrate the achievements of the players.
The National Governing Body for Schools’ Football in England.
