Location
BYDL
Same venue every week, Goals Centre in Woodley to U8.
EBFA
Home Matches played in Twyford at KGVR, move to Stanlake at U10.
Location
Training
Regardless of league, all our teams practise at the same venue, i.e. Piggott High School 3G pitches
Venue
BYDL
The Goals Centre at Woodley gets very busy and crowded on Saturday mornings, with lots of matches being played and lots of spectators. Parking is limited and can be very difficult for games kicking off mid-morning.
EBFA
Typically matches are played on playing fields across the region. There are a few outlying teams but most teams are within a 15 mile radius of Twyford.
Pitches
BYDL
Astroturf (no set up needed), games very unlikely to be called off due to bad weather.
EBFA
Grass (Coaching team will need to mark out the pitches, and a respect line at the start of the season, the club organises for the pitches to be re-marked out during the season).
Equipment All provided by the League. The Coaching team and/or parents will need to put up and take down the goals for each home game. A safety check of the pitch is required before each game.
Player Registration Not required. Required by the League for all players. Player Registration Cards must be checked before each match kicks off, and a team sheet should be swapped with the Opposition team.
Pre match preparation The League organises everything including kick off time. The Manager will be responsible for arranging the details of each Home match with the Opposition Manager. For each home game, the Manager is responsible for organising a referee.
Post match administration Results are entered onto the FA’s fulltime website (via text). Results are entered onto the League’s own system, including ratings for the conduct of the Referee, players, coaching staff and spectators.
League/Competition Teams are entered into a division at the beginning of the season and will be re-organised at Christmas to ensure teams are playing at similar standards. There is typically an end of year and end of season
tournament. Teams are entered into a division at the beginning of the season and will be re-organised at Christmas to ensure teams are playing at similar standards. There is also a season long cup competition that each team competes in, There are three cup competitions which are organised by grouping comparable divisions together.
Cost
Summary There is less administration involved with BYDL, but this is relected in the cost and the venue used does have some challenges. There is more administration involved, but if shared between two coaches it’s not a huge burden. There is more variety playing home and away, the teams play on grass and you have more control when organising the details for each match. The cup competitions are an additional benefit, and as a club we’ve done pretty well in recent seasons.