Lambeth & Southwark Primary Schools Football (L&SPSF) aims to provide organised, competitive football for boys and girls attending primary or junior schools in Lambeth and Southwark. The objective in doing this is to encourage physical and social development, teamworking, discipline and the ethic of fair play in which winning is important but is not seen as something to be achieved at all costs. L&SPSF seeks to introduce Lambeth and Southwark children to the benefits of playing football and in so doing hopes to help both boys and girls maintain an active lifestyle.
In season 2021/22 L&SPSF introduced a "no heading" rule to further safeguard all our players, boys and girls. The League Coordinator Gary Cornforth was subsequently interviewed by the Times newspaper which featured L&SPSF in a series of articles the paper carried in October 2021 following publicity about the possible harmful effects of heading footballs. In July 2022 the English FA announced that they intented to run a pilot "no heading" trial for the u12 age group following which Gary was invited on to Radio 5 Live as L&SPSF had already implimented such a heading ban.
The league considers the no heading rule to have been a success with no complaints from schools, coaches or parents and intends to continue the no heading regime indefinitely.
On the face of it there are many sports opportunities out there for primary aged children. You can try out multi-skills, throw a foam javelin, run, jump, bat, field, grab a tag and much more. Lambeth & Southwark Primary Schools Football is different. Playing football (and not just football) for a regular established league gives kids things they can't get elsewhere. Training, committing and playing with a group of peers teaches co-operation, self-reliance, reliance on others, discipline, respect, and courage. Children surprise themselves and others by what they can do and who they are on the pitch.
None of this could be achieved without regular, scheduled games. One of the first things kids ask in school on a Monday morning is "have we got a game this week?" As we are not a school with a starry league record, I believe I can say that league participation can help children deal with the fixation on winning. League participation really helps with this. Teams who have taken a beating in a league match learn to reflect on their own positives as well as handle the inevitable losses with acceptance and growing maturity. They learn that winning is a fantastic part of sport but it is not the reason to play sport. You cannot replicate this type of experience with one off sports activities or day long mini-tournaments.
I strongly feel that participation is king here. Whilst grass roots leagues give real scope for the more talented players to develop, the fact that so many children get a chance to taste regular football played at their own level is the real prize.
Abby Whitten
Hitherfield Primary
L&SPSF offers out of school hours regular 9 a side league and cup football for mixed sex teams and girls only 7 a side football from September.
Our season usually starts the last Saturday in September. All primary schools in Lambeth and Southwark are welcome to apply for membership.Member schools pay match fees which cover ground hire, referees fees, league administration and affiliation to the Inner London Schools FA through South London Schools FA. Any schools wishing to participate or which would like more information should contact Gary Cornforth the League Coordinator by phone or e-mail. See Executive Committee below for contact details.
The league works with qualified coaches and aims to make available to schools football coaches at all levels of the FA coaching programme.
Our venues with junior sized pitches and goals are the Rosendale Playing Fields in Rosendale Road, SE21, the Dulwich Sports Ground in Turney Road SE21.
Both facilities have pitches laid out specifically for 9v9 junior football with appropriate sized goals. In addition the Dulwich Sports Ground has mini soccer pitches for 7v7 football appropriate for girls only football.
Hon. President: Arthur Williams, former head, Immanuel & St Andrew's Primary
Secretary: Jordan Gomez, Henry Fawcett Primary
Chair: Mark Parsons, former head, Oliver Goldsmith and Elm Wood Primaries
Treasurer: Dan Rodger, St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary
Coordinator: Gary Cornforth
Tel: 07905 910575 email: gary.cornforth17@outlook.com
Other pages:
This is the text-only version of this page. Click here to see this page with graphics.
Edit this page |
Manage website
Make Your Own Website: 2-Minute-Website.com