About J League
Kids Football Is Changing
The “ ESPZEN JuniorLeague” is a revolutionary model for Singapore Youth Football and mirrors changes which are taking place all over the world. It recognizes that children are not adults and need a game which is customized to the needs of a child. The ESPZEN Junior League is designed and structured to promote development and furthermore, is “age appropriate” in terms of pitch size, goal size, ball size and team size. Finally ESPZEN’s “award winning” professional league management service will ensure that the ESPZEN Junior League will emerge, over time, as the league of choice for Coaches, Players and Parents alike.
| Concept | Other Leagues | ESPZEN Junior League |
|---|---|---|
| Team Size |
8 or 9 a side. Children should not be playing 8 or 9 a side at the younger age groups (u10 and below). No football association in the world promotes this format. |
5 or 7 aside. Plenty of touches of the ball for each player. All over the world, federations are moving to 5 aside for Under 8s and 7 aside for Under 10s. |
| Squad | Player names have to be determined in advance and fixed for the season | Squads not fixed, allowing Clubs maximum flexibility to pick and choose which players are available each week. New players can be registered during the season. |
| Season Squad Size |
Often Twelve to Fifteen Large squads required to account for injuries or players travelling. However this model causes a selection headache when all players are available. |
N.A Each week, the coach can select whichever players are available, according to the clubs internal policy. |
| Match Day Squad Size |
Twelve Players to Fifteen Impossible for a coach to keep 12 players (and parents) happy on match day. With full rotation at best means each player receives only 50% playing time. |
Each Club to Determine We do not dictate the number of players a club can bring. Every club has their own internal policy, each club will have two games on match day and should ensure sufficient players on match day to fulfil fixture obligation. |
| Venue |
Can be Random Depends on organiser |
Fixed Venue Quality astro turf field, centrally located. |
| Goal-Keeper Punting the ball |
Allowed and often encouraged Deemed by some parents and coaches as a winning strategy and Goalkeepers receiving praise for the distance the ball is kicked |
Not Allowed. We need young players to play football. Football is played with the ball on the ground. Rules customised to promote development |
| Playing Time Per Team | Often 2 half of 20 mins – total 40 minutes of football | 2 matches of 35 minutes – total of 70 minutes football. |
| Fixtures |
Week by Week Determined only week by week thus not allowing academies to plan effectively |
Planned in Advance To allow teams to plan and work with parents to ensure player availability |
| Kick Off Times |
Can be random Depends on organiser |
Same time for each age groups 1330 to 1500 and 1500 to 1630 enabling clubs to plan their coaching resources, and makes parent logistics simple. |
