East of Scotland Soccer Development Association

COVID-19 SUSPENSION

It looks likely that all football will be suspended for a while. I will post any information here, but in the meantime - please keep safe.

SFA Grassroots Football Suspension

All ESSDA matches are suspended until further notice.

ESSDA PVG

The next ESSDA PVG Night will be at

•   Craigroyston CFC club rooms on Muirhouse Parkway
•   on Monday 9th March 2020
•   from 6:30pm to 7:30pm

See PVG page for details and how to register to attend.
Thank you to Craigroyston CFC for hosting this event

Looking for a game on 1st March 2020

Arniston Rangers have a 7s pitch available for any 2011s Beckham/Zidane that want it.
If your game is off but still want to play, Arniston have a slot at 12:30 on their Astro.

Get in touch

SFA Heading Guidelines

To read about the new SFA guidelines on heading footballs, please see -
https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/football-development/participation/childrens-youth-football/heading/

SFA/SYFA Player Pathway

The revised rules for 2020 small sided games from SYFA have been put onto the SYFA website today - see "Laws of the Game, Small Sided Games and Player Pathway" on https://www.scottishyouthfa.co.uk/index.php/information-downloads/football-games-and-tournaments

2020 Fixtures

Fixtures for the 2020 First Half are now available.  See the fixtures page.

Any comments or concerns should be addressed in an email to me. I will make corrections as soon as I can, but I cannot make changes immediately.

ESSDA 2020 Applications

The closing date for applications was yesterday 15th February 2020.
Any late applications will be queued and may not be included in the start of the season.

SFA Performance School - Broughton High School

SFA are pleased to announce the application process for the Scottish FA JD Performance School programme for 2020 is now open.
This programme is for young Elite players (male and female) who have the potential to play at the highest level. It is a four year programme that would see the selected pupils attending a Performance School and is intended for pupils who are currently in Primary 7 moving in to S1 in August 2020.
Please see the links below for applying for forthcoming trials.

Main landing page: https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/performance/jd-performance-schools/applications/

Pro Form: https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/performance/jd-performance-schools/applications/pro-clubs-application/

Grassroots Form: https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/performance/jd-performance-schools/applications/recreational-applications/

Applications close on 12th February 2020.

ESSDA Applications

Applications for ESSDA 2020 will close on 15th February 2020. Please apply now.
Late applications will mean your club missing the start of the season on weekend of 29th February 2020 / 1st March 2020.

All clubs must be SYFA registered for season 2020 to play ESSDA football.

SFA In Service

The SFA will be hosting various In Service sessions prior to the 2020 First Half gets underway on 29th February / 1st March 2020.

Player Pathway Workshops

17^th Feb, 18.30-20.30 – Small Sided Games

17^th Feb, 18.30-20.30 – Transition to 5s

24^th Feb, 18.30-20.30 – Transition to 7s

29^th Feb, 10.00-12.00 – Transition to 9s

See SFA page for more details.

ESSDA registration 2020

ESSDA registration for 2020 is now open. All teams must register for 2020 - see forms page.
All Clubs must be SYFA registered too (see below).

Each age group will have the choice of 5 divisions Pele (strongest) > Iniesta > Maradona > Zidane > Beckham  (Note the new Iniesta division)
In case their are insufficient teams to support an extra division, each team must select an alternative division.

Soccer 7s & Nines 9s must register each team here.

Football 4s and Super 5s must register here

The new season will start on 1st March 2020 and run to 7th June 2020
Fixtures will be published the week before. Applications will close on 15th February 2020.

To see what teams have registered so far and to see their chosen division, go to

PVG Night

The next ESSDA PVG Night will be at

•   Craigroyston CFC club rooms on Muirhouse Parkway
•   on Monday 27th January 2020
•   from 6:30pm to 7:30pm

See PVG page for details and how to register to attend

First Aid Training

SYFA Approved 2-Day Activity (Sports) First Aid Course by DrABC Medical Training. The course dates are Saturday 25th & Sunday 26th January 2020. This First Aid course is being held in Edinburgh and costs £60pp. For more details or to book a place on the course, please contact the training provider at info@drabcmedicaltraining.co.uk

SYFA Registration

Age group 2008 (12s) does not need to register with SYFA at this time. They will next register in summer when they move to play 11v11 with SERYFA.
Only one registration is required with SYFA per age group no matter how many ESSDA teams you have.

Every team (including 2008) must register with ESSDA for the 2020 season.

SYFA Membership 2020

To play football in 2020, all clubs must be SYFA registered. SYFA registration for 2019 expired yesterday.
Please register with SFA Live before playing any football (including futsal) in 2020. Check your SYFA registration here - registration page.
Age group 2008 (12s) is already registered for 2020 for their transition season. They register with SYFA midyear for the 2020/2021 season to play SERYFA..

All Team Coaches, Assistant Coaches and First Aiders must be members of SYFA and registered on SFA Live.
To be members of SYFA, officials must be PVG Scheme Members through SYFA.
All Officials must also complete the free online Child Welfare and Wellbeing course on SFA Live.

Parents who look after teams on match days or who act as Match Officials must also be SYFA registered on SFA Live as Team Helpers.

First Aid Course

Spartans Youth are holding a Sports First Aid Course at Ainslie Park on Sunday 19th January 2020. 
It is a one day course being run by Hampden Sports Clinic. With spaces available, this event might be of interest to other local clubs.

SYFA Registration

Assuming ESSDA is registered, and your Club has registered for 2020, Age Groups will be able to register with SYFA for 2020 starting on 3rd December 2020.

The ESSDA Soccer 7s and Nines 9s will start on 1st March 2020, with fixtures published the weekend before.

ESSDA applications for 2020 will close on 15th February 2020 to allow time for the schedule to be prepared.
I hope to offer 5 divisions at each age group in 2020 - Pele > Iniesta > Maradona > Zidane > Beckham
However, if there are not enough teams to support each division, I may have to merge two divisions

All Clubs must be SYFA registered for 2020 before they play any football after New Year - including futsal.

Permission to play

•   outdoor football in December/January
•   futsal with another association
•   indoor football with non ESSDA teams (including pro-youth and school teams)

must be sought from SYFA using SFA Live system.

SYFA Registration for 2020

Sadly, too late to save the ESSDA 2020 Winter Football event, the SYFA have changed the timetable for SYFA registration for 2020.

•    Registration for associations (ESSDA) will open today 6th November 2019.
•    After ESSDA has registered, all Clubs can register for 2020 - one registration per Club
•    As long as your Club has registered, and ESSDA has registered, all Age Groups will be able to register with SYFA after 3rd December 2019

Age group 12s (2008) do not need to register with SYFA at this time as they are entering the transition season for moving to 11v11 in summer with SERYFA.
All other age groups must register with SYFA - one registration per Age Group.

To register an Age Group, you must have -

•    a Coach with SFA Level 1.2 qualification
•    all Coaches PVG Checked with SYFA
•    a First Aider with a valid Sports First Aid qualification

You can speed up your registration by ensuring you have the required paperwork ahead of the registration.

After your Age Group is registered, you can then register players. All players need to be registered and must be registered to the age group in which they are playing.
    eg  A child born in 2010 but playing in a 2009 team, must be registered to the 2009 Age Group and thereafter cannot play for a 2010 team.

Please note, all teams must be registered with SYFA before they play any football in 2020, including futsal.

The ESSDA 2020 Season First Half starts the weekend of 1st March 2020 with fixtures for Soccer 7s and Nines published the week before.

SYFA GUIDANCE ON HEADING FOOTBALLS

Following Dr Willie Stewart’s recent study into dementia risks in former professional footballers, the SYFA has now updated our guidance accordingly.

We would recommend, with immediate effect, that any drills which involve heading the ball are removed from all training sessions for age groups up to, and including, under 11s (7 v 7 teams).  As far as possible, heading the ball during games at these age groups should also be avoided.

The SYFA would also take this opportunity to remind all of our coaches and officials that if any player, at any age group, is suspected of having a concussion they must immediately cease playing in the game and should not re-join the match. Coaches and officials are also reminded of NHS advice on concussion and head injury, and should seek immediate medical advice if symptoms continue or worsen, or if a player is suspected of having lost consciousness.

For more details, please read the Sport Scotland's Concussion Guidance.

The SYFA is committed to ensuring the safest environment possible for children and young people to play football. Although there is not yet a definitive link between heading the ball and brain injury, it is essential that we take the relevant precautions to best protect our players.

Winter Football 2020

Sadly, ESSDA will not be organising Winter Football for January / February 2020. See Winter Football page for details.

All Clubs are reminded that SYFA permission is required to play any other Winter Football including Futsal.
Clubs which fail to get the necessary SYFA permission before playing will be breaching rule 131 of SYFA Supplementary and Playing Rules:-

131 All clubs, teams, leagues, associations and players under the jurisdiction of the SYFA shall not be permitted to stage or play in any match or competition other than those approved by the SYFA.

Twitter / Facebook

All Clubs are reminded that SYFA rules prohibit the publishing of any results of development football on social media.

"Club A won 10-0" "Club B beat Club C" and similar statements are not allowed.
See https://www.scottishyouthfa.co.uk/images/Information-Downloads/Football-Games-and-Tournaments/Laws-of-the-Game-Small-Sided-Games-and-Player-Pathway/Player-Pathway-SSG-Rules-2018.pdf

Results : It is unacceptable for a league and/or club to post results from development matches on to any website or publish in any newsletter or newspaper.

Formal Complaints

Anyone who wants to make a formal complaint about any aspect of ESSDA or ESSDA match must follow the SYFA Complaint Management System. This can be viewed at http://www.scottishyouthfa.co.uk/index.php/members-corner/complaints-management-system

Complaints must be made in writing to Hampden using the forms available on SYFA website.

The Complaint Process consists of several steps:

Stage 1) Discussion with the party the complaint is about
Stage 2) Telephone or email enquiry to SYFA
Stage 3)  Lodging a formal complaint with SYFA
Final Stage) Complaint referred to a senior person within SYFA

Feedback on ESSDA Matches can be made using the ESSDA Monitoring Form.

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