Football

How it works

From your local pitches to the national stage.

One connected pathway, three rounds, launching 2027. Here's exactly what each stage involves, and what your club can expect at every step.

Local Qualifiers

  • One-day events at quality venues near clusters of registered clubs, indicative travel up to 60 minutes.
  • Graded groups keep matches competitive for every team, whatever their level.
  • Half-day and full-day formats by age group, with a published schedule 14 days ahead.
  • Every team gets a guaranteed minimum number of matches.

Regional Finals

  • Qualifiers from neighbouring counties meet at a regional venue.
  • A step up in standard, and in occasion, without losing the organised, family-friendly feel.
  • Regional champions book their place at the national stage.

National Finals

  • A champions-only showcase day at a prestigious professional stadium venue.
  • The ambition: a finals day in the class of a professional club ground, the kind of stage grassroots players rarely get to grace.
  • National champions crowned in every age group.

Formats, qualification criteria and venues are confirmed to registered clubs before entries open. The competition runs subject to County FA sanctioning and in line with FA youth guidelines.

Register club interest

The first event

PROPOSED R¹ PILOT:R3 VOLUME 1.

This is what the first R3 event looks like on paper. Every unconfirmed detail is labelled. Nothing here is presented as booked, sanctioned or final until it is.

Your registration is a vote. The pilot goes ahead where demand is strongest: registering your club, and telling us your age groups and travel limits, directly decides where we will be hosting our first Essex-based event.

Vote for this event

Accuracy note: venue, dates, capacity, format, match guarantee and pricing shown here are proposed or indicative until confirmed in writing to registered clubs. The £2 spectator admission is the planned fee. The competition runs subject to County FA sanctioning.

VenueProposed
ESSEX VENUE
Subject to agreement
Date windowIndicative
Spring / early summer 2027
Age groupsIndicative
U8–U12
Demand-led, subject to sanctioning
Team capacityIndicative
20+ TEAMS PER AGE GROUP
FormatIndicative
Half-day or full-day by age group
Match guaranteeIndicative
MINIMUM SIX MATCHES PER TEAM
Team feeIndicative
£75–£120 by age group
Final pricing set with registered clubs
SpectatorsPlanned
£2 per spectator
Supports venues, officials and facilities

Your R¹ matchday

A sample schedule, built on promises.

An indicative half-day format, tap any moment to see the operational detail behind it. Final schedules are confirmed to entered clubs 14 days before each event.

  1. Clear joining information sent in advance: parking, pitch map and a digital team check-in so queues never build.

Four guarantees you can measure.

  • Fixtures 14 days ahead

    Groups, kick-off times and venue details published at least two weeks before every event.

  • Minimum match guarantee

    Every team plays a guaranteed minimum number of matches, set before entries open, honoured on the day.

  • Maximum planned gap

    A published cap on the longest wait between any team's matches. Schedules are built around it.

  • RESULTS WITHIN 24 HOURS

    Progression and qualification for R² confirmed in writing within 24 hours of the final whistle.

The exact match guarantee and maximum gap are published per event before entries open, set at levels operations can honour, then measured after every event.

Times shown are an indicative half-day schedule; full-day formats follow the same promises over a longer window.