ESFA Danone Nations U11 9-a-side Inter-District Cup

ESFA Danone Nations U11 9-a-side Inter-District Cup | 2021

What is the ESFA Danone Nations Cup?
The Danone Nations Cup is the biggest international football
tournament for children aged 10-12, with over 2 million children from
27 countries participating each year. As part of Danone’s ‘One
Planet. One Health’ vision, the tournament aims to inspire children to
‘Play Football, Change the Game’: to develop healthy, sustainable
and inclusive behaviours and become world citizens. Each year,
Danone and the ESFA organise the national tournaments, at the end
of which a team usually qualifies to represent England in the World
Final.

In England, Danone has partnered with the English Schools’ Football
Association (ESFA) to run the Danone Nations Cup for children in the
Under 11 age group. Each year, around 5,000 primary schools compete in
the four U11 national tournaments, which culminate in the ESFA Danone
Nations Cup National Finals. To learn more please visit
www.danonenationscup.com.

Regrettably, due to the restrictions imposed regarding the Covid-19
pandemic, the World Finals will not be able to take place in 2021.
However, the ESFA and Danone are keen to offer football activity for the
boys and girls in England, and so, for Season 2020-2021, the following
two competitions will be offered for member associations’ representative
teams:

• U11 Girls’ 9-a-side Inter-District Cup
• U11 Boys’ 9-a-side Inter-District Cup

How does it work?
The ESFA and Danone offer this Under 11 9-a-side Knockout Cup for
District Association Representative teams; similar in format to that
of the ESFA Under 13 and Under 15 Inter Association Trophy
competitions.

This will be hosted in place of the existing 7-a-side format for
Season 2020-21 only. This will be delivered in line with Government
Covid-19 guidance relating to organised grassroots team sport as
advised by The Football Association, DCMS and the DfE. There will
be one competition for boys (mixed teams are permitted) and one
competition for girls.

The competitions will be contested on a knockout principle, where
the winning team from each fixture will move forward to the next
round. The team drawn at home will host the match and appoint
and pay for the match officials.

Each match will be 2 x 30 minute periods. If scores are level at the
end of the match, 2 x 7 minute periods of extra time will be played.
If scores remain level after extra time, the winners will be decided
by taking penalty kicks (FIFA rules).

The ESFA will secure a neutral venue to host the final of the Boys’
and Girls’ Cups

Date Structure
The ESFA will host the following competitions, starting after
Christmas, using the date schedule below (*number of rounds is
based on the number of U11 District SFA representative teams
registered on the ESFA portal for 20-21):
Boys’ U11 District Cup – up to 117 teams*
Round 1: to be played on Saturday 06 February 2021
Round 2: to be played on Saturday 06 March 2021
Round 3: to be played on Saturday 27 March 2021
Round 4: to be played on Saturday 01 May 2021
QF: to be played on Saturday 22 May 2021
SF: to be played on Saturday 12 June 2021
Final: to be played on or before Saturday 17 July 2021

Girls’ U11 District Cup – up to 61 teams*
Round 1: to be played on Saturday 06 March 2021
Round 2: to be played on Saturday 27 March 2021
Round 3: to be played on Saturday 01 May 2021
QF: to be played on Saturday 22 May 2021
SF: to be played on Saturday 12 June 2021
Final: to be played on or before Saturday 17 July 2021

Safeguarding
Association Welfare Officer
If your Association is running any representative team(s) then the
Association must have a fully compliant Welfare Officer in place.
Your Association Welfare Officer is responsible for reporting
incidents and concerns to the ESFA National Welfare Officers and
ensuring all managers and coaches are compliant with an in-date FA
DBS check.
Your Association Welfare Officer must have:
•   An in-date FA Criminal Record Check (DBS)
•   Have attended the FA Welfare Officer Workshop

Registration of team staff
You will need to register the staff members who are involved with
running your representative teams on the ESFA portal. It is very
important that we know who is coaching and managing
representative teams for your Association and that they are FA DBS
checked and have had appropriate safeguarding training in place.
The ESFA will check compliancy for individuals on The FA’s Whole
Game System.

For more information on the ESFA’s Safeguarding Policy go to
www.schoolsfootball.org/child-welfare/

Covid-19 Guidance
Guidance for participating teams
The ESFA’s guidance on the latest government information relating
to Covid-19 travel restrictions can be found at
www.schoolsfootball.org/covid-19-guidance

As government guidance is updated, we will communicate
information directly to teams so that you are aware of the latest
situation relating to playing representative schools’ football.

You can also find a number of helpful documents by visiting
www.TheFA.com. This will help you put the necessary control
measures in place to allow you to proceed with your football
fixtures, as well as complete a template Covid-19 risk assessment,
all of which have been produced by The Football Association and
approved by DCMS.

Important: In addition to the Covid-19 risk assessment which needs
to be completed, Associations participating in any fixture must
routinely produce a risk assessment. A template document can be
found at
www.schoolsfootball.org/one-stop-shop/resources/

Finance
Home Teams
The team that has been drawn as the ‘home’ team will be
responsible for securing a venue to host the fixture and pay all costs
associated with hosting the fixture, including, but not limited to, the
venue hire costs and match officials fees.

Matches must take place on the scheduled play on date unless an
earlier date can be mutually agreed between both teams and
playing the fixture early does not impact on any local representative
schools’ football team competition fixtures. In such cases,
permission must be obtained via competitions@schoolsfa.com

Away Teams
The ESFA will offer travel expenses (away team only) from the last 16
onwards in the boys’ and girls’ competitions, at a rate of £1 per mile,
for a return journey.

A travel grant form will be available to download from
www.schoolsfootball.org/national-competitions/association-travel-
claim-forms/

Competition Rules
A set of complete competition rules will be sent to all
participating teams before the competition starts in the New Year.
In the meantime, here are some important points to note relating
to the competition regulations:
•   The tournament is a 9-a-side competition
•   The match day squad will comprise of a maximum of 14 players
    (5 named substitutes are permitted per game)
•   Repeated substitutes are allowed in each match (so if a player
    comes off, then they become a substitute)
•   Players must be under 11 and over 10 years of age at midnight on
    31 August / 1 September in the current playing season to be
    eligible to participate in this competition (Year 6 only)
•   FA regulations recommend the pitch size should be 80 (length) x
    50 (width) yards
•   FA regulations recommend that the goal size should be 7 (high) x
    16 (width) feet
•   Tournaments may be played on 3G or 4G pitches provided that
    the venue holds a valid test certificate and appears of The FA’s
    register of artificial pitches. To view the register visit
    https://3g.thefa.me.uk
•   A size 4 ball shall be used

Rules continued…
•   Players shirts shall be numbered. In the event of a colour clash,
    the away team must change to an alternative kit
•   The home team will appoint the match officials. Your local
    Referees’ Association Secretary or County Schools’ FA / FA
    Referees’ Officer may be available to assist with the
    appointment of Match Officials. Officials appointed to your
    fixture must be registered with the County FA and hold a
    current and valid FA DBS Criminal Record Check
•   If Assistant Referees are not available, then each team will be
    expected to provide a suitable person to run the line
•   In the Semi-Finals and Final, the ESFA will appoint a team of
    Match Officials
•   The competition will be played on a knockout principle where
    the winning team will progress to the next round and the losing
    team will be eliminated from the competition
•   Matches will consist of two periods of 30 minutes. If scores are
    level at the end of 60 minutes, extra time of 2 x 7 minute periods
    will be played. If extra time fails to determine the winning team,
    the the match shall be decided by taking kicks from the penalty
    mark (FIFA rules)
•   The rule relating to offside does apply to this competition

    Please note, there will be no world finals in 2021 for winning teams to attend

Social Media and Publicity
Generating local news about your team’s involvement
The ESFA will distribute a media release for local organisers / teams
to use to obtain coverage in the local press. If you would like to get
in touch with the ESFA PR Team or have a media related enquiry,
please email sarah.kearney@schoolsfa.com

Social Media
To get involved on social media, make sure you interact with our
channels. Share your pictures, comments, memories and everything
else… we are looking forward to hearing from you!

        @SchoolsFootball @danonenationcup

         @SchoolsFootball @danonenationscup

         @SchoolsFootball
         @DanoneNationsCup

         www.youtube.com/esfatv
         www.youtube.com/user/danonecup

For more information visit www.schoolsfootball.org