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.
Schools’ Football Week (SFW) is an ongoing English Schools’ Football Association (ESFA) initiative designed as an opportunity for schools, teams, Associations and clubs from across the country to embrace schools’ football and the wellbeing benefits it provides to pupils and players. It celebrates the importance of schools’ football, competitive or otherwise, to pupils across England and provides teachers and coaches with tools and a motivation to further discuss the benefits of schools’ football within their educational environment.
This year, the ESFA is delighted to announce a new partnership with Haier, the No.1 Global Major appliance brand who will support the Schools’ Football Week campaign and help raise more awareness of this initiative than ever before.
The focus for Schools’ Football Week 2021 was to provide an opportunity for children to get outside, have fun and enjoy being able to play sport with their school friends, after so much time spent in lockdown. The ESFA is sticking to these principles for 2022, but with the schools’ football season in full swing for 21/22, the ESFA has received a record number of girls’ team entries and SFW presents the perfect opportunity to focus in on highlighting and celebrating the continued growth of girls’ football.
The ESFA, in association with Haier, will be encouraging schools, Associations, clubs and teams to introduce some football-related activity into their environments throughout SFW, using their SFW guide. From football-themed lessons, to inter-house or intra-school tournaments, the campaign is designed to celebrate Schools’ Football, Girls’ Football and everything in between, in a way that is inclusive to all pupils and players.
SFW 2021 saw:
Over 100,000 school pupils in England take part in Schools’ Football Week activity
Over 500 schools register participation
Over 8,500 teams embrace SFW activity
The ESFA is hoping to engage in even more activity for the 2022 campaign and also looking to gather some positive feedback from participants regarding girls’ football activity in England. In the 2021/22 season, the English Schools’ FA has seen over 6,500 teams take part in ESFA National Cup competitions.
In addition to championing girls’ football this season, Schools’ Football Week is also focussing on:
Celebrating the ESFA’s first ever live draws for National Schools’ Cup quarter and semi-final matches on Monday 7 February
Celebrating and promoting the Deaf Schools’ Finals, which take place on Tuesday 8 February
The campaign isn’t designed to focus wholly on competitive football, but the wide-ranging benefits that being part of a team can have on school age children in England. For example, SFW aims to bring together opportunities for schools to bring football off the pitch and into classrooms, providing learning resources from other ESFA partners that can be useful tools to engage pupils in the wider world of football.
Mark Hignett, ESFA Chairman said“On behalf of the English Schools’ Football Association, I am delighted to welcome Haier on board for Schools’ Football Week. It is fantastic to see how this campaign has grown in popularity over the last few years and to now have the initiative backed by a worldwide brand is another positive step for our Association.
Schools’ Football Week provides an opportunity to showcase the importance of schools’ football in England and February 2022 will provide the next instalment of this wonderful initiative. Children missed out on so many opportunities throughout 2020 and 2021 due to the global pandemic and the ESFA has seen, first-hand, how much schools and associations had missed these opportunities to bring together children with a shared passion of football and all that it entails.
There is so much activity happening out there, be it within schools, districts, counties or internationally and with it comes a diverse range of opportunities for a diverse range of children. We want to highlight all of the wonderful work that goes on in England to nurture these young players and help them to continue on their journey with football, wherever it may take them.”
Antony Peart, Director of Brand and Communications UK and ROI at Haier said “We are pleased to have partnered with the ESFA. Their initiative is fantastic, helping and encouraging children to peruse healthy lifestyles, play football and enjoy team morale. At Haier we understand that 2020/21 was a very difficult time for all, which is one of the many reasons why we really wanted to support and work in partnership with an Association that can help bring sports and joy back into children’s daily routine.”
The ESFA and Haier will work together to create fantastic Schools’ Football Week opportunities in 2022.
The Importance of Schools’ Football Week:
To share the value and importance of Schools’ Football across England
To highlight the mental and physical health benefits of Schools’ Football
To celebrate the return of Schools’ Football
To further the profile of the English Schools’ FA and the activity they provide as the Governing Body for Schools’ Football in England
To elevate and promote participation numbers, particularly of girls within schools’ football
To showcase the talent and dedication shown by schools in England to support football as part of the curriculum
