A one day football festival for adult male 11-a-side teams is taking place in East London on Easter Monday.
The All Nations Football Festival, which is free to enter and open to male teams over the age of 16, will be played on grass pitches at the Douglas Eyre Sports Centre, E17.
The All Nations Football Festival is a series of football competitions aimed at providing organised playing opportunities for refugee and other groups who, for a number of reasons, have been excluded from the Football Family.
The project supports teams taking their first steps towards participating in regular affiliated football.
During Phase 1 (2000-2006) a total of 155 adult male teams drawn from 87 community groups participated in the project.
Partnerships
Through working in partnership with the Refugee Council, Leyton Orient Community Sports Programme, London Community Sports Network and London FA, teams were recruited from refugee groups, Positive Futures programmes, Football in the Community schemes and voluntary organisations across London.
Phase 2 of the project has established a clear pathway for teams wishing to progress from casual training and occasional friendly fixtures to regular participation in a competitive affiliated league.
Following on from the Easter Monday Football Festival, Monday 18th May will see the start of an eight week summer league for male 11-a-side teams.
There will be two divisions, one for adult teams (over 18 years old) and an U18 division for players aged 16-18 years. Matches will be played on midweek evenings on the artificial pitch at Douglas Eyre Sports Centre, E17.
Affiliated football
Then, from October 2009 - April 2010 regular affiliated football will be played via London Communities League 2009/10.
Anyone interested in registering a team for one of the leagues should click here to download further information and an application form.
London Community Sports Network has been commissioned to provide a series of training workshops and support sessions for teams in order to help them manage their club effectively and sustain their activity in the local community.
Level 1 Certificate in Coaching Football courses and Referees courses are also held for these teams to ensure that they have qualified volunteers to support their work.
For more information, please visit lpff.org.uk
