News Reports

FCF and Kent FA's Soccability Project
The introduction day for students of RLSB's Dorton House was a great success. Students, carers and teachers had plenty of positive feedback about the football sessions delivered to pupils with visual and physical impairments. There was plenty of great ball control and shooting on display throughout the fun, confidence building sessions.

The introduction day is the pre-cursor for the official Soccability project run by the Kent FA which is launched on February 24th. The scheme will provide opportunities for regular participation and professional coaching to young people who are trying to live life without limits. The project is open to any students with visual impairments in the South East, contact andy@firstclassfootball.com for further details.

FCF's Academy Team's showed off their talent and hard work in recent identification matches against Brighton & Hove Albion FC youth teams. The away games were an excellent opportunity for FCF coaches to assess how the selected individuals compared to those players already representing the local professional club. It also enabled Brighton coaches to pick out a few of our boys who really stood out. The attitude and effort levels were exceptional and the individual skill and ability on show was a treat to behold. This will inspire all Skill Centre players to work harder and practice more in order to be involved in the next Academy Team matches. Well done all involved.

FCF showing VI students the way

In association with the Kent FA and Sevenoaks Town FC, First Class Football have established regular coaching sessions for local visually impaired students. The sessions are the culmination of a disability project with Valance and Dorton House schools and have been a fantastic experience for both coaches and players. Funding from Ward & Partners and Morgan Stanley will ensure the future of the sessions and will ultimately lead to the formation of a Kent VI team.

Ossie Ardiles signs up First Class Football for Holiday Courses

World cup winner and legend Ossie Ardiles has recently launched his own football holiday courses and approached FCF to secure the services of the premier coaching providers. The first course took place during the summer and was a fantastic success with over 100 children attending who all had the time of their lives. We look forward to working with Ossie and Mickey Hazard on future courses.

To visit Ossie's Soccer School site click here

FCF coaches line up against UEFA cup winning team!

Our coaches recently took part in a charity match against some of the stars of the Spurs 1981 FA cup and 1984 UEFA cup winning team. The charity team included ex professional players such as Mickey Hazard, Graham Roberts, Steve Sedgley and Paul Allen along with actor Ralf Little and played against a team made up of Sevenoaks Town youth team managers and FCF coaches. The day was fantastic fun and unforgettable for all involved.

First Class Football meet England stars

Last night FCF helped Umbro to launch their new X iii A boot which has been created in association with Michelin. The boot is set to revolutionise a player's first touch as the surface covering the inside of the foot is coated in a brand new substance which dramatically improves a player's first touch especially in the wet. Tests done at Liverpool John Moores university indicated that the boot performed up to 90% better than a normal boot in slightly wet conditions.
First Class Football were brought in by Umbro to design and run a number of interactive drills for journalists at the official press launch of the boot. Andy and Ben of FCF were helped out on the day by England superstar Michael Owen and Kelly Smith and Rachel Yankee of the England ladies team. The event was a great success and it is good to hear that Michael is well on his way back.

For details on corporate projects that we have helped with click here

FCF appear live on Sky News

Head Coach Andy McAllen recently appeared live on Sky News in connection with a feature on professional academies and youth development.
The interview was well received and you can watch it in full below. Yet another example of the good reputation and name that we are continuing to build.

To watch the video click here

May/June holiday a first class record breaker!

The recent school holiday was a fantastic week for footballers across West Kent and East Sussex. First Class Football introduced our new 'Brazilian Street Skills' in association with the Futsal Premier League and over 250 children across 5 venues learnt how to play like the Brazilians and were all able to pull off the flicks and tricks of players such as Ronaldinho and Ronaldo.
The week was a record breaker for FCF and we hope to see lots of the players back again in the summer to show us how good you are and to learn lots of new skills and moves.

For details on our upcoming holiday courses click here

FCF off to win the cup in Germany!

First Class Football are travelling out to Germany this summer with the England team to bring back the cup. It won't be the World Cup unfortunately but it will be the 2006 Bud Cup, which is awarded to the winners of the international tournament organised by Budweiser during the World Cup celebrations.
The tournament includes teams from all over the world including Argentina, Portugal and the USA and First Class Football have been asked to find the 8 best amateur players in the country to go out and retain the cup which England won back in 2002. First Class Football toured the country hosting trials in order to find 8 players that stood out from the other 2000 trialists and eventually selected the final squad in London on May 21st.
Jamie Redknapp attended the event and helped with the final selection of the team and commented positively on the quality of the players. The team including manager Ben Tadmor of FCF will be taken out to Germany by Budweiser and will get the chance to watch a couple of matches before taking part in the tournament. We wish the squad all the best and hope they can bring back the trophy!!

Little Dribblers all set to go!

The exciting launch of our brand new 'Little Dribblers' programme is less than a week away. The concept is to provide pre-school children with an introduction to the beautiful game of football through fun games and activities.
The sessions will enhance physical development, improving body awareness, agility, mobility and motor skills whilst also improving personal skills such as confidence and social skills. All this will be provided in a fun and secure environment which will provide children with a positive first introduction to sport and fitness. All sessions will be presented by Head Coaches Andy McAllen or Ben Tadmor and will last 45 minutes.

Session content will be football based and will include games based on TV and films, music and number/colour association which will all combine to develop the basic skills of ball control, ball manipulation, passing and receiving, shooting, throwing and catching. There will be 2 coaches at each session with a maximum of 12 children in each class. All coaches are FA qualified, police approved to work with children, trained in first aid and child protection and fully insured. A block of sessions will last 5/6 weeks and will cater for 3-4 year olds, venues include Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge, Aylesford, Crowborough and Sevenoaks but more venues will be coming soon.

For details of our Little Dribblers classes for 3 & 4 year olds click here

Gillingham matches a success

The two Development Centre squads that travelled to Gillingham FC to play their 'Centre of Excellence' teams on the 21st Jan gave a very good account of themselves in cold, wintry conditions. Both teams played some fantastic football and it was great to see coaching topics that we have worked on being put into practice.
The Gillingham FC coaches were very impressed with the standard of all players in both squads, so much so that two of the under 10 team were invited to attend a trial period of training sessions with the club. A number of boys in the younger team also stood out and we have been invited back again at a future date for coaches to have another look at them. Well done to all boys involved.

Development centre boys do themselves proud

A great morning was had at Gillingham FC on Saturday, where the under 8 'Development Centre' boys that we took along participated in a coaching session and then played matches integrated with Gillingham's 'Development Centre' players.
All the boys performed extremely well depsite the very cold weather and a few showed some flashes of brilliance that certainly caught the eyes of the Gillingham coaches. Those players that did stand out will be invited back again in the near future. We will also be trying to arrange matches for all other Development Centre players.

For details on our Development Centres for advanced players click here