National Competitions, Schools' Football Week, The World of Schools' Football

ESFA announce live draws for Schools’ Football Week

The ESFA is delighted to confirm that for the first time in National Schools’ Cup history, they will be streaming a live draw for the quarter and semi final rounds of up to 30 competitions.

Schools’ Football Week, in association with Haier, will kick off on Monday 7 February 2020 with the ESFA’s live draws streaming on their YouTube channel, ESFA TV from 5pm.

The ESFA currently run 30 Schools’ Cup competitions from U12 – U18, including the 20 PlayStation F.C. Schools’ Cup competitions, at the U12 to U15 age groups. The quarter and semi-final rounds of all 30 competitions will be drawn live from West Bromwich Albion’s Hawthorns Stadium and will be streamed online for all participants to see where the next round of their competition will take them.

ESFA Director of operations, Darren Alcock said: “The ESFA is really excited about being able to broadcast ESFA National Cup draws for the very first time.   It promises to be an tremendous evening which will hopefully capture the imagination of our audience and generate some fantastic interest amongst the children, family members and teachers involved.   We are extremely grateful to our friends at West Bromwich Albion Football Club, for allowing us to use the fantastic facilities at The Hawthorns’ Stadium to host the live stream.”

Programme information and timings will be available from next week, for a more detailed overview of the event, but in the meantime the ESFA urge schools’ cup followers to subscribe to the ESFA YouTube channel and keep an eye on social media channels for further information.

Don’t forget to follow the English Schools’ FA on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for up to date information on all upcoming events, including Schools’ Football Week, in association with Haier.

The World of Schools' Football

Welcome to Season 2021/2022

The Schools’ Football Season kicks off for 21/22 – and it’s planned to be better than ever!

September is here, schools have reopened across England after the summer break and the ESFA Schools’ Football Season is due to kick off for 2021/2022. With the Covid-19 pandemic causing significant issues, delays and cancellations to both the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons, it is with high hopes that we enter into the new season, armed with new competitions, partners and activities for school children, teachers, volunteers and supporters to enjoy.

National Schools’ Cup Competitions

The first National Cup deadlines aren’t until the 25 September, giving schools a chance to settle back into their weekly routines before the tournaments kick off, but fixtures are already scheduled to take place in the first rounds of some National Cup competitions. The National Competitions have attracted almost as many entries as was being received pre-pandemic, a huge boost for the ESFA and confirmation that the schools’ cup competitions offered are of high importance and value to schools and school pupils who take part.

ESFA handbooks and information emails will be distributed to participating schools in the coming days, with full information on competition participation and rules.

Representative Football

The ESFA has changed its competition format for representative football in a shake-up for the 21/22 season, with the Champions Cup now being the title for all District and County competitions. The new format will not only provide more opportunities for teams to play (as the competition is structured in a ‘champions league’ format, rather than knockout), but will also provide a pathway towards more funding for this type of activity. You can read more about the Champions Cup and Player Passport here.

Sponsors & Partners

Keep an eye on our website and social channels throughout September and October, to find out all about the ESFA’s sponsors and partners and how they’ll be supporting the Association throughout the coming months.

We’ll be re-launching all of our partnerships for the new season with lots of information on how we can spread the joy of schools’ football further than just the pitch. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for regular updates and also insights into team accomplishments throughout the coming months!

To find out more about the ESFA’s current sponsors and partners, you can click here.