Author: The English Schools' FA

Schools' Football Week, SchoolsFootballWeek

Sport in Mind share mental health resources for Schools’ Football Week

The English Schools' FA
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The English Schools’ Football Association (ESFA) is teaming up with Sport in Mind to support Schools’ Football Week 2023.

Sport In Mind are the UK charity that transforms the lives and mental health of children and adults through sport and physical activity. Sport in Mind’s innovative programmes are delivered in partnership with the NHS and are co-designed by people with personal experience of mental health problems and healthcare professionals.

Schools’ Football Week 2023, in partnership with Pro:Direct, which takes place from the 6th – 12th February, lands the same week as Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week (CMHAW). The theme for this year’s CMHAW is “Let’s Connect” and it explores the ways in which meaningful connections that children make, can support their mental health. Football is a fantastic example of how children can make long-lasting and meaningful connections and friendships and therefore aligns perfectly with the ESFA’s Schools’ Football Week activity.

The ESFA has teamed up with Sport in Mind to promote their Youth Programme, to provide additional resources for teachers during Schools’ Football Week. The programme is designed to reach as many young people as possible, to raise the awareness of the benefits of being active have on their mental health. For SFW 2023, the Charity are sharing their KS3 an KS4 PSHE lesson plans and framework as a free download for teachers to utilise as part of the campaign.

All schools that register their activity for Schools’ Football Week will receive a code to access these resources for free, providing another tool for them to help introduce schools’ football into the classroom as part of the week-long campaign in February.

Stuart Botham, ESFA Chair said, “I am so pleased to see the connection that’s being created by the ESFA and Sport in Mind, a charity I chose as my “Chair’s Charity” for the 2022/23 season. It has been proven time and time again that sport – football included – is a fantastic boost to the mental health of both children and adults and for the English Schools’ FA to be able to join forces with Sport in Mind to promote their resources throughout Schools’ Football Week is a valuable asset to the campaign. I hope that all schools that receive these free resources this February find that they are able to use them within school, to strengthen the messages shared for Schools’ Football Week 2023 and beyond.”

Kayleigh Harris, Head of Services (South East) at Sport in Mind said, “Sport in Mind are thrilled to be working in partnership with the English Schools’ FA to get more young people moving for their mental health and enhance understanding about the benefits of being active on one’s mental health. As a charity, we have supported and educated thousands of people get active for their mental health over the last decade and we hope our exciting new partnership with the English Schools’ FA will play a crucial role in transforming the lives of thousands of more young people nationally in 2023 and beyond. “

The ESFA is delighted to be able to positively promote Schools’ Football Week and simultaneously support the importance of Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week, thanks to Sport in Mind, in 2023. Click the link below to find out more about Sport in Mind’s SFW resources –

SFW – Mental Health Resources
Schools' Football Week, SchoolsFootballWeek

ESFA National Schools’ Cup Live Draws return for Schools’ Football Week 2023

The English Schools' FA

The ESFA is delighted to announce the return of the ESFA National Schools’ Cup Live draws as part of the Schools’ Football Week 2023 celebrations

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With Schools’ Football Week 2023, in partnership with Pro:Direct Sport (6th-12th February 2023) rapidly approaching, the ESFA is delighted to announce the return of the ESFA National Schools’ Cup Live draws, following the success of the inaugural live draws in 2022. The event will cover the U12-U15 PlayStation Schools’ Cup competitions, the U16 – U18 Schools’ Cup competitions and the ESFA U18 Super League, drawing the quarter finals or semi-finals of each of the respective competitions.

The draw will be taking place at West Bromwich Albion’s Hawthorns Stadium and will be streamed on Monday 6th February from 5pm on the ESFA’s YouTube channel, ESFA TV.

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This season’s ESFA National Cup Competitions has seen a record 7,230 school teams including 1,886 girls teams taking part, an increase of 667 teams on the overall entries. The live draws are the perfect way to celebrate the successes of the teams still in the competitions as well as build up the excitement for the closing stages of the tournaments, with the opportunity of a National Final within touching distance for the teams involved. The ESFA is grateful to West Bromwich Albion FC for once again setting the stage for these draws, as the Association begins preparations to host its 20 PlayStation Schools’ Cup Finals at the ground in May 2023.

Last year’s Live Draw event was the first of its kind and saw over 7,000 people tuning in throughout the event to see who the best schools’ football teams in the country would face on the way to the final. This event can be viewed below.

More information including a schedule of events for each competition will be announced next week via email and the ESFA’s social media channels, allowing you to tune in for your specific competitions. Make sure to tag @Schoolsfootball on social media using #ESFALiveDraws with your draw reactions.

Schools' Football Week, SchoolsFootballWeek

Sport in Mind set to support Schools’ Football Week 2023

The English Schools' FA

The English Schools’ Football Association is delighted that their Chair’s Charity, Sport in Mind, are supporting the Association with Schools’ Football Week 2023.

Schools’ Football Week (SFW), which takes place from the 6 – 12 February 2023, falls on the same week as Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week and Sport in Mind will be supporting the ESFA to provide some mental health resources to schools to coincide with the SFW campaign.

Sport in Mind are the UK charity that transforms the lives and mental health of children and adults through sport and physical activity. Sport in Mind’s innovative programmes are delivered in partnership with the NHS and are co-designed by people with personal experience of mental health problems and healthcare professionals. Their innovative youth programme supports those struggling but also focuses on early intervention and prevention with education programmes on the benefits of being active for good mental health. To date they have supported over 15,000 people, and with our fundraising, they can help many more.

Ahead of the Christmas break and in the run up to the release of the mental health resources to support SFW, Sport in Mind have created a winter wellbeing resource for schools to download for pupils. This may be a useful tool for schools to share with pupils to utilise over the Christmas break. You can download this by clicking here. 

The opportunity for the ESFA to tie Schools’ Football Week in with Sport in Mind’s resources and Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week, is allowing the Association to truly reflect and share the poignancy of its “15 Benefits of Schools’ Football” principles with schools and pupils across England.

These resources will be shared as part of the campaign in early 2023.

Schools' Football Week

Schools’ Football Week returns for 2023!

The English Schools' FA

Let’s support even more pupils to enjoy the benefits of Schools’ Football! 

The English Schools’ Football Association is delighted to announce the return of Schools’ Football Week, in partnership with Pro:Direct Sport, from 6th – 12th February 2023!

Schools’ Football Week (SFW), in partnership with Pro:Direct Sport, is an ongoing 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 Pro:Direct Sport- The World’s largest online specialist sports store, who will support the Schools’ Football Week campaign and help raise more awareness of this initiative than ever before.

The 2022 campaign saw the ESFA embrace the growing participation in girls’ football in schools – promoting the importance of equal access to schools’ football for both girls and boys. In this new season, following the incredible journey of the Lionesses and continuing the trend the ESFA have seen over the last two years, SFW is going to continue the ESFA’s pursuit to celebrate girls’ and all schools’ football in 2023. The ESFA has seen the highest ever number of girls’ entries into National Cup Competitions in 22/23, with over 120 schools entering girls’ teams for the first time. SFW 2023 will continue to celebrate this growth and the many other positives that come for all schools’ football participants.

The ESFA and Pro:Direct Sport, will be encouraging schools, Associations, clubs and teams to introduce some football-related activity into their environments throughout SFW from the 6th – 12th February. 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.  

Take a look at our girls’ football stats from SFW 2022…

Schools’ Football Week 2022 saw the ESFA reach huge new levels of participation –

  • Over 142,000 pupils took part in SFW activity
  • Over 10,000 teams were involved in SFW
  • Over 800 schools registered for events
  • Over 56,000 girls benefitted from schools’ football activity during SFW

The ESFA is hoping to engage in even more activity for the 2023, with the help and support of campaign sponsors and ESFA partners, Pro:Direct Sport.

In addition to continuing to champion girls’ football this season, Schools’ Football Week is also focussing on: 

  • Airing live National Schools’ Cup draws for the second season, on the ESFA’s YouTube Channel, ESFA TV
  • Providing more classroom resources than ever before, including a focus on Children’s Mental Health and the positive benefits of sport
  • Three balls and a ProDirect Ball carrier for every school
  • The first 250 schools to sign up will receive 15 SFW bibs for their schools’ football activity
click here to register for sfw 2023

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.

The ESFA and Pro:Direct Sport will work together to create fantastic Schools’ Football Week opportunities for all participants in 2023.

Stuart Botham, ESFA Chair 22/23 said “On behalf of the ESFA, I am delighted to see the Association further its partnership with Pro:Direct for Schools’ Football Week 2023. Schools’ Football Week has been, and continues to be, a fantastic platform on which to truly celebrate the many and far reaching benefits of schools’ football. Working on this project alongside an organisation such as Pro:Direct, will allow the ESFA to share our passion for this campaign further than ever before. I look forward to seeing the many activities planned by schools across 6th – 12th February and to see how the campaign continues to grow for 2023.”

Sam Baldock, Chief Brand Officer from Pro:Direct Sport said ‘We’re really excited to partner with The ESFA on Schools’ Football Week. We think that we can add significant value and hope to make this the most inspiring Schools’ Football Week to date. We plan to provide lots of practical guidance and tools that will help teachers, coaches and volunteers, both during Schools’ Football Week and beyond. We’ll be using our extensive contacts in the game to make sure that there will be plenty of things to get the pupils excited too! This initiative, along with our continued work with the ESFA, gives us the perfect platform to build upon our mutual ambition – to get more children, of all ages and genders, playing football.”

Don’t forget to register

You can register your activity for Schools’ Football Week 2023 by clicking this link. You can also find lots of useful resources and downloads on the SFW resources page, here.

The Importance of Schools’ Football Week:

  • To share the importance of schools’ football across England 
  • To show proof of the mental and physical health benefits of schools’ football 
  • To share stories and experiences to engage and inspire players and pupils  
  • To heighten the profile of the English Schools’ FA as National Governing Body for schools’ football in England
  • To elevate and promote participation numbers for schools’ football
  • To showcase the talent and dedication shown by schools in England to support football as part of the curriculum  
SchoolsFootballWeek

SCHOOLS’ FOOTBALL WEEK 2023 – Save the date 

The English Schools' FA

Let’s support even more pupils to enjoy the benefits of Schools’ Football!  The English Schools’ Football Association is delighted to announce the return of Schools’ Football Week, from 6th – 12th February 2023!

Schools’ Football Week (SFW), is an ongoing ESFA initiative designed as an opportunity for schools, teams and clubs from across the country to embrace schools’ football and the wellbeing benefits it provides to pupils and payers. 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.  

The 2022 campaign saw us embrace the growing participation in girls’ football in schools – promoting the importance of equal access to schools’ football for both girls and boys. In this new season, following the incredible journey of the Lionesses and continuing the trend the ESFA have seen over the last two years, we are going to continue in our pursuit to celebrate girls’ and all schools’ football in 2023.  

Schools’ Football Week 2022 saw the ESFA reach huge new levels of participation – 

  • Over 142,000 pupils took part in SFW activity 
  • Over 10,000 teams were involved in SFW 
  • Over 800 schools registered for events 
  • Over 56,000 girls benefitted from schools’ football activity during SFW 

Don’t miss your opportunity to be part of this fantastic campaign in 2023! 

Save the date 

The 2023 campaign will officially launch on Monday 28 November. We will be asking schools, Associations and clubs to register activity, allowing us to see participation levels from across England and to understand the activities taking place to celebrate SFW in your area. The registration link is already live, for those who want to sign up straight away, but full information, along with a toolkit to help you with ideas on how to get involved, will be shared on Monday 28th November. 

We have launched a brand new website dedicated to Schools’ Football Week this year and we will be keeping that updated with news stories, resources and information for you to access. Simply visit www.schoolsfootballweek.co.uk to find out more and don’t forget to follow @schoolsfootball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to be kept up to date with all of our activity. 

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Schools’ Football Week 2023 – The countdown is on…

The English Schools' FA

Schools’ Football Week will return in 2023, from the 6th – 12th February!

The English Schools’ Football Association (ESFA) is delighted to announce that Schools’ Football Week will return for its fourth year in February 2023.

The 2022 campaign saw more than 142,000 pupils from over 800 schools across England take part in some sort of football-related activity, helping to celebrate the wonderful world of Schools’ Football.

One of the main focus topics for Schools’ Football Week 2022 was Girls’ Football and the campaign saw more than 56,000 girls benefitting from new activity within their educational setting. The 2023 campaign will continue with this theme, alongside others, to create as much participation in schools’ football and understanding of the benefits of such throughout the week.