new season – English Schools' Football Association

Round 1 and 2 draws for all ESFA National Schools’ Cup competitions are now live on the ESFA website. The 2022/23 Schools’ Football season will be the biggest ever, with over 7,000 school teams entering ESFA National Competitions across the country – that’s over 110,000 pupils taking part!

Girls taking part in a football match at West Bromwich Albion's Hawthorns stadium

A team of PlayStation F.C. Schools' Cup National Champions, lifting the trophy

The biggest ever Schools’ Football season is about to get underway and draws for ESFA PlayStation Schools’ Cup and ESFA National Cup competitions are now live on the ESFA website. Schools can click here to see who they will face in the opening rounds of the U12 – U18 competitions. The ESFA has received a record number of entries for 2022/23 with over 7000 teams taking part, equating to over 110,000 players. This includes 1886 girls teams and 30,000 girls taking part, which is a record number for participation in the girls’ game, for the second consecutive season!

A winning team lifting the trophy and holding the winners' banner after becoming National Champions at West Bromwich Albion FC

More information on the competitions that the ESFA offer can be found below, alongside details on entry requirements, competition rules and more.

ESFA-National-Cup-Programme-2022 Download

ESFA handbooks and information emails will be distributed to participating schools in the coming days, with full information on competition rules. Deadline dates for planning fixtures in the 2022/23 season can be found here. 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. Click here to register your team or email [email protected] to get involved.

Two girls celebrating on the pitch during a national final match

PlayStation F.C. Schools’ Cup

The PlayStation F.C. 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 both footballing and non footballing activity. Check out the ESFA (@schoolsfootball) and PlayStation F.C. Schools Cup channels (@Psschoolscup) to stay up to date with the amazing opportunities schools can get involved in this season!

Two plinths displaying the match ball and winners' trophy on the pitch at West Bromwich Albion FC

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 and #PSSchoolsCup (for U12 – U15 competitions) 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 your players.

The English Schools' FA

The National Governing Body for Schools’ Football in England.

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.