1000 new teams created through Soccer One

Monday, 14 December 2009

1000 new boys and girls teams have been created in secondary schools across Scotland by the Scottish FA's largest after-school football programme, Bank of Scotland Soccer One. 

Speaking at Toryglen Regional Football Centre in Glasgow, Scottish FA Chief Executive, Gordon Smith, confirmed that since the programme was started as a pilot scheme in 2006
in three local authorities, it has expanded to include all 32 local authorities involving nearly 10,000 S1-S3 pupils.  With an additional 604 boys and girls teams created this school year on top of the existing 552 teams started since 2006, the  tally is now over 1000.

The landmark announcement, made on the first day of a week long Scottish FA Football Festival involving schools from the Glasgow area and volunteer coaches from local colleges, follows the Scottish FA's pledge in June that all S1 pupils in Scotland now had access to free football training and games through Bank of Scotland Soccer One.

The popularity of the initiative is highlighted by this week's festival at Toryglen where, in partnership with Glasgow City Council Education Services and Culture and Sport Glasgow, 1000 local school pupils will take part in a variety of football activities and games organised by volunteers from Glasgow colleges. 

Take a look at the video on the right to find out more about Soccer One and the volunteer programme.

Around 100 students from North Glasgow, Nautical, Cardonald and Metropolitan colleges have gained coaching qualifications in return for volunteering their time at training sessions as part of Bank of Scotland Soccer One and the Scottish FA's additional commitment to supporting young volunteers interested in the game.

Gordon Smith said  "In June, we announced that every S1 school pupil in Scotland would have the opportunity to play organised football through the Bank of Scotland Soccer One programme, and it's a significant achievement that so many
pupils are now playing the game.

"We want every school pupil in Scotland to play football, and by investing in programmes like this, alongside our partners at the Bank of Scotland and the Scottish Government, we prove that we're committed to
that aim. 

"This is a wide-reaching and long-term project. We are already rolling out the programme to S2 and S3 pupils, and events like this week of football at Toryglen demonstrate the opportunities created, not just for young players, but for the volunteer coaches who are the lifeblood of the grassroots game."

Bank of Scotland Soccer One is a national network of football activity running in participating High Schools across Scotland from August to June.  Run in partnership with the Scottish FA, the Scottish Government's CashBack for Communities scheme and title sponsor Bank of Scotland, the programme aims to create new football teams in schools for
boys and girls, regardless of ability. 

Susan Rice, Managing Director Lloyds Banking Group Scotland, commented: "Bank of Scotland is proud of the opportunities and benefits the Soccer One programme provides annually to thousands of young people across
Scotland. It is a fantastic achievement to reach such a significant milestone of 1000 new teams."