Everyone's a loser as tournaments are called off

David Knox • Published 1 Jun 2010 14:37 0 Comments

NATIONAL football chiefs have forced two local tournaments for kids to be cancelled - for fears someone might WIN.

The crackpot campaign by the Scottish Football Association prevents any of its officers and coaches becoming involved in competitive games for primary school players.

And the lack of support from the region's football development officers, who are jointly funded by the SFA and Scottish Borders Council, led to the Tweeddale Inter School Tournament and the Broughton Bash both being called off earlier this month.

Furious parents and teachers have hit out as their children's dreams of cup glory were left in tatters.

Parent Fiona Pagett from Broughton told us: "Without the support of the football officers there wasn't enough staff to host the tournaments.

"The children were all looking forward to playing - this is political correctness gone mad. All because some children would win a trophy and others wouldn't."

The local authority employs several sports development officers who are partly funded by their national sporting bodies.

But the clash of competition rules is restricted only to the beautiful game.

Councillor Catriona Bhatia, spokeswoman for education, said: "I totally support the parents.

"The SFA's stand is crazy - these tournaments have been running for years and shouldn't have been cancelled at the last minute. Life is about winning and losing, something children should learn. It is very unfortunate the way this has come about."

The Tweeddale Inter School tournament, which also involves netball, has been staged since 1934.

Although the Broughton Bash looks unlikely to be rescheduled this year a new date of June 15 has been set for the Tweeddale tournament, which will be held at Priorsford Primary.

But there won't be any football development officers on hand for the matches.

Education director Glenn Rodger told us: "We have a partnership with the SFA and, as with other target sports, we aim to deliver these sports in line with best practice recommended by the respective Scottish governing bodies.

"In this case, the SFA promotes primary school-aged football which allows players to develop in a fun and friendly environment where they can express themselves fully without the focus on the result."

SFA regional manager Mark Munro reacted to the outrage by issuing his organisation's Schools Football mandate. It read: "Research demonstrates quite clearly that when young children participate in sport where a trophy is on offer for the winner, this can often affect their development in a negative manner and curtail their learning development.

"Research also demonstrates that the incorporation of trophies in games has an effect on the coach and how they communicate/behave towards players as well as the effects on supporters, all in a non-conductive manner."

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