Youth Football

Youth

Football for young people aged 5 – 18

GET INVOLVED IN LOCAL YOUTH FOOTBALL


There has never been a more exciting time to get into youth football.

Dorset FA supports an incredible grassroots community of leagues, clubs, coaches, volunteers and parents to provide a safe and fun environment for young people to play football. We work hard with these partners to provide children, teenagers and young adults of all abilities with a wide range of opportunities to get involved in the game. 

Youth football in Dorset progresses from 5 v 5, 7 v 7 and 9 v 9 into 11 v 11 football in line with The FA’s Youth Review.

Key things you need to know about Youth Football in Dorset:

  • Youth Football covers Under 7 – Under 18 leagues
  • Football up to under 11 is non-competitive
  • Formats move from 5 v 5, 7 v 7, 9 v 9, 11 v 11 with pitch sizes aligned.

We can all help children enjoy football more by creating the right environment. That is why The FA has produced an easy-to-follow guide to help improve the matchday experience for younger players. From introducing codes of conduct to simply providing refreshments, the guide offers plenty of tips to help every volunteer, coach or manager of a grassroots youth team.

There has never been as many youth teams (over 62,000) playing across the country and we can all do our bit to ensure our young players stay in love with the game.

Grassroots Youth Football Guide

Grassroots Youth Football Guide (Mobile Version)

Let's make football safe, not sorry
Safeguarding
Reporting Concerns

It'S EVERYONE’S RESPONSIBILITY 

If you feel that an adult connected to your league or club (e.g. a referee, coach or a volunteer) is mistreating someone under the age of 18, there are various confidential ways you can report this.

By ‘mistreating’, we mean behaving towards under-18s in a physical or verbal way you believe is threatening or makes the young person feel scared or bad.

Find out more and watch a short film The FA has produced explaining how to report your concerns. Of course, everything is completely confidential.

Weetabix Wildcats 2

Wildcats

Wildcats Centres providing girls aged 5-11 years with regular opportunities to play football and take part in organised sessions in a fun and engaging environment.