League blazes the trail for summer football
Football players playing in the Catforth and District
Summer Football League have been given the official go-ahead to start
their season after facing the prospect of having no referees.
Teams in the league, which has teams in Wyre, Preston, Fylde and the
Ribble Valley, feared massive disruption after registered refs were
officially banned from taking games. But now - in a national
first - the league is to pilot summer football through the official
close season after emergency talks with county soccer chiefs.
The league, which has flourished for nearly 80 years, will for the first time be affiliated to the Lancashire Football Association and come under its auspices for disciplinary matters. The breakthrough came after LFA chief executive David Burgess lobbied the national FA to review regulations regarding the close season, which extends throughout June. This had proved a stumbling block because the league traditionally runs from April to August. As the league was not affiliated, referees were told they were not allowed to officiate. Mr Burgess said: "We live in an ever-changing social environment where people's lifestyle patterns are changing through work and home life, and it sees odd that while we can play football festivals, one-off competitions and recreational football in the close season, a league that has operated for so long cannot become part of the football family. **Summer football then? What do think about something similar here? Let us know what you think on our Fans Forum here** "However, the FA has looked favourably on the
league and subject to sanction by the full FA Council in May, the
league has been given dispensation to pilot affiliated summer
football, the first league in the country to do so." Mr
Burgess added: "It is fantastic news that the FA has looked at
the league and its history, and the fact that it is giving more than
300 participants the opportunity to play the game, as well as giving
match officials the opportunity to referee the games, bodes well for
the future of the grass roots game. "It is common sense to
affiliate the league and we are looking forward to welcoming the
Catforth League as a member of the Lancashire FA." A league
spokesman said: "We're very glad this has been resolved and we'd
like to thank the county FA. |