For the past 4 weeks, Burnside High School, Hagley Park and the Eastern Canopy in New Brighton have been home to Junior Street Football, a free-to-play program provided by Mainland Football for children aged 9 to 12, and plans are in place to have more hubs running in Term 2.

Street Football is free to play and involves 3v3 and 4v4 football played on tennis courts and netball courts, the hard outdoor surfaces creating a Street Football environment where children can enjoy playing football in total freedom. 

“The biggest factor for our street football is there is no coaching, the children just rock up and play without an adult telling them what to do,” said Adam Keizer, Community Development Manager at Mainland Football.

“They can try skills, tricks and be as creative as they wish without worry of making a mistake. In street football, they can make lots of mistakes and it doesn’t matter, everyone is just having fun playing. It’s amazing some of the goals and moments they can create together when they are made to feel confident and allowed to make their own decisions for themselves. In my opinion, we need more places for Kiwi kids to be creative with a football and learn through just playing.” 

While being free to play and having no coaching are fundamental aspects of Junior Street Football, a less is more approach and the inclusion of music are also important contributors to the weekly Hubs. A minimal amount of equipment is used, a couple of goals and a ball is all that is needed for each court. Bibs are purposely not used, so the children have to be aware of who is on which team and music is played throughout, making a fun and unique place to play football. 

Game Leaders supervise and referee the games, however, the children mostly work out disagreements between themselves, whether it’s a goal kick or a corner etc. A quick paper scissors rock and the game continues!

“The most pleasing thing has been to see the Street Football hubs create a place for kids to just hang out together, safely in their local communities and make new friends through football,” said Adam. 

“It’s so important we create hang-out areas for young people in their local communities and provide a place to be active and stay connected, and that is exactly what our Street Football Hubs are about.”

All Term 2 dates for Street Football will be announced next week, for more information click here.

For more information about Street Football contact Josh.D@mff.nz or adam@mff.nz 

Article added: Wednesday 27 March 2024