Football: Midlands schools hit scouts with ban

PREMIERSHIP AND Nationwide scouts have been banned from watching schools football in the West Midlands area.

The Football Association has recently revolutionised youth football with the introduction of Football Academies, which are being run by 34 League and Premiership clubs, who have been granted a licence for this season.

But the new system is causing conflict between schools' football and the professional clubs with regard to the number of games and the teams with which a boy can play for.

The new regulations, which came into effect this season, limit the number of games that a boy attending an academy can play to 30 and clubs are supposed to liaise with parents and schools to decide which games the boys should play.

The Midlands teachers are also complaining that clubs which do not have academy status but still run centres of excellence are trying to encourage boys not to play for school teams.