Proposed changes by the FA regarding the structure of youth football have sparked a mixed reaction from two local leagues.

Recommendations include increasing the amount of small-sided games and raising the age at which children play 11-a-side football.

If this proves a success, it could be extended right up to under-18s.

They are among 25 recommendations in the FA’s Young Player Development Review, aimed at improving the game at every level.

Also included among the proposals is a switch from winter to summer football.

The plans for more small-sided games – aimed at giving children more touches of the ball, with age-appropriate pitch and goal sizes – have generally been welcomed by both Mike Breeze, secretary of the Craven, Aire & Wharfe Junior League, and Eddie Presland, organiser of the Keybury League.

Presland, though, while agreeing the changes will help children develop their technique before they make the step up to the ‘adult’ 11-a-side game, is wary of the costs involved in implementing certain initiatives.

He said: “I’m in favour of the directives. My only downer is they are talking about pitch sizes and goal sizes as well, which I’m all in favour of, but who is going to pay the costs? That’s my only concern.

“Sutton have a wall around their pitch so they can’t increase the size of it.

“I can see where they’re coming from as teams could field three different sides instead of just one with smaller-sided games. But a lot of teams only have one team per club so they only get one lot of subs and they’ll have to get equipment together for all these changes, which will cost a vast amount of money.

“The more directives that come in, the more expensive it will be. The money’s got to come from somewhere.

“If they say you must have goalposts and you must have the correct pitch size, it could lead to clubs leaving.

“As far as I know it’s not been passed yet but we’ll be in line with it by next year.”

Breeze is adamant the proposals offer an improved climate for children to play football in and that the FA have taken the opinions of the youngsters on board.

He said: “A considerable number of clubs are aware of the advantages, such as the children not jumping straight from seven-a-side to full-size games.

“I’m very much in favour of it. If we’re going to serve the needs of young footballers, we need to look carefully at what we do with them. The FA has done research into what the kids want and they actually interviewed the youngsters to find out what they like and try to satisfy that need.”

However, Presland argues that the FA’s research hasn’t included the views of those who need help the most.

He said: “The FA have spoken to kids of good financial background who play for academy teams where there are 30-40 kids playing. I don’t think they have spoken to the grassroots, only to academy sides who take kids of a certain standard.

“I’m more concerned about kids on council estates who can’t afford £3 a week training money – that’s who we need to be looking after, the kids in the street who can’t afford to play.”

The FA are also seeking to switch junior football matches from winter to summer to avoid the raft of postponements caused by bad winter weather and, in the long term, to improve playing standards.

Opinion on this radical proposal has divided opinion both nationally and locally.

Presland is firmly against the idea.

“They are thinking about this because of the bad weather but you have to think of the reverse of that,” Presland told the T&A when the FA first muted the idea last season.

“Kids are going to get far more bumps and scrapes and bruises playing on hard grounds and suffer more injuries in the summer than they ever would in the winter.”

Other potential problems are making children choose between football and cricket – our national winter and summer sports – ground availability (when grounds are used by football and cricket teams), holidays and exams.”

The Craven, Aire & Wharfe Junior League, which caters for under-11s to under-18s and has almost 60 clubs, had to cancel all but one of their League Cup competitions last season because of the poor weather.

“We’ve had the longest lay-off that I can remember,” said Breeze.

“The difficulties we have with finishing the season raises the question about summer football.

“They lose interest, look at other things, and you can understand why. It’s not a good thing for football.

“If they (the FA) do decide to go down that route, we’ll do our best to get it going. Kids should play to the best standard possible, and this is the way to do it.”