Abbreviation | ESFA |
---|---|
Headquarters | 4, Parker Court Staffordshire Technology Park |
Location |
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Chairman
|
Mike Spinks |
Chief Executive
|
Andrea Chilton |
Website | www.esfa.co.uk |
The English Schools' Football Association was founded in 1904 and is the governing body of Schools' Football in England, and is responsible for the running and development of Schools Competitions and Festivals for Boys and Girls at Primary and Secondary school age. The ESFA Headquarters is in Stafford.
The Football Association (FA) works with ESFA to support high quality, coordinated Inter School Football competition programmes for all young people. The Association run national competitions from Under 11 to Under 19 age groups. This provides opportunities for young people to have the experience of playing at a higher level by representing their schools in a national recognised competition with all of the finals taking place at professional Stadia. In the last few seasons, the ESFA has had finals at The Etihad Stadium, Old Trafford, Anfield, Stamford Bridge, Craven Cottage, Goodison Park, The Hawthorns and even Wembley Stadium.
The ESFA's Centenary year was in 2004. England Schoolboys v Rest of World was played at Aston Villa FC to celebrate this. The game saw over 10,000 spectators attend.
In 2008, the ESFA hosted an International game at Wembley Stadium which saw just over 20,000 spectators. The day started with the Under 11 Primary Finals with the pitch divided into 2 halves.
The second event was a Celebrity Match with celebrities from England and Scotland. The teams included:
England team manager: Sir David Frost, television presenter.
England players: Angus Deayton, comedy actor and TV presenter, Ralph Little, comedy actor; Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, Sid Owen, screen actor; Eastenders, Big Bob from Al Murray's Happy Hour, Martin Toal, tenor, Des Comerford, Chris Hollins, TV presenter, BBC Breakfast, Chappers Mark Chapman, radio presenter, Radio 1 and Five Live, Colin Salmon, screen actor; Robinson in James Bond films, Alien vs Predator, Adam Woodyatt, screen actor; EastEnders, Ian Wills, vocals, Wills and the Willing (goalkeeper), Ross Millard, guitar and vocals, The Futureheads, Luke Simpkins, lead vocals, The Days, Harry Meads, drummer, The Days, Tim Ayers, lead guitar, The Days, Natty, solo artist, Paul Smith, lead vocals, Maximo Park, Danny Cipriani, Wasps and England.