Leisure Leagues

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Leisure Leagues are Europe's largest organisers of five-a-side football and six-a-side football,^[1]^[2] and as well as running leagues in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, they also operate leagues in the Republic of Ireland^[3]^[4]

History of Leisure Leagues

The name "Leisure Leagues" was first used in 1990 although the small-sided leagues had been running for many years previous.^[5]

The first leagues began cropping up in the Midlands area (Coventry, Stratford Upon Avon and Warwick) but the organisation soon grew and more areas were soon added to the list.

Charity

The only small-sided football provider to donate all of their profits to charity and environmentally sustainable projects, Leisure Leagues are delighted to benefit the Dog's Trust and Cancer Research UK.^[6] And even with the organisation's massive operations across Europe, they are committed to keeping their travelling carbon neutral.^[7]

National Tournament

Leisure Leagues hold the annual 5 a-side and 6aside National Tournament^[8] where the most successful teams from all over the UK are invited to battle it out with other teams from across the country. An All-Irish tournament also takes place annually for teams from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Media Team

Leisure Leagues are the only providers of 5-a-side and 6aside football who can boast a dedicated Media Team,^[9] working tirelessly at the organisation's head office in rural Warwickshire. The Media team are responsible for the Leisure Leagues Blog ^[10] which is updated throughout the week with stories from the footballing world and beyond.

Testimonials

The organisation can boast kind words of support from several footballing celebrities,^[11] including Alan Wiley,^[12] Alex McLeish,^[13] Stephen Kelly^[14] and Jeff Kenna.^[15] It is not only in the footballing world though where the honest charitable work of Leisure Leagues is recognised, as Gordon Brown, David Cameron, The Prince Of Wales and Boris Johnson are all supportive of the organisation.^[16]

Format

The Leisure Leagues, using football pitches across the country, gives the opportunity to people from different walks of life and standards of football to get involved in an entertaining local league, and either be committed and competitive or casually with a group of friends. The different Leagues in different regions (and days)contain varying amounts of teams and divisions. Teams, and players, can compete in multiple leagues at the same time and as there are different skill levels throughout the Leagues, teams may win one league and find themselves in a relegation battle in another.

List of Regions/Areas containing one or more of the Leisure Leagues

Avon/Somerset, Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Birmingham and Solihull, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Devon and Cornwall, Essex and Hertfordshire, Gloucestershire, Guildford, Herefordshire, Hull District, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Merseyside, Middlesex, Norfolk, North East, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Shropshire, South Coast, Staffordshire, Suffolk, Surrey, Sussex, Swindon, The North, Walsall and Wolverhampton, Warwickshire, West Berkshire, West Midlands, Worcestershire and Yorkshire.

References

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