Keelham won the West Bradford School Sport Partnership's primary schoolgirls' seven-a-side soccer tournament.

They defeated Horton Park 2-1 in the final on Thornton Grammar School's artificial turf pitch to win the trophy, and also lifted the player of the tournament award via Sophie Berry.

She was chosen by Northern Ireland under-19 women's international Eleanor Turner, a sixth- form student at Thornton.

Other schools taking part were Heaton, Lidget Green, Hollingwood Lane and St Anthony's and, after a round-robin, Horton Park and Keelham won through to the decider.

The standard of play was high considering this was the first year of the event, and credit was due to staff for working hard with the girls both in lessons and in after-school practices.

Sixth-form students from the West Bradford School Sports Partnership's community leadership course (Sports Leaders' UK award) refereed the matches.

The West Riding County Football Association were present and handed footballing goody bags to all the schools.

"Sophie played outstandingly," said West Bradford Schools Sport Partnership's development manager Richard Nichols of the player of the tournament, "and it was a really good day. A lot of parents turned up to watch what was a festival, a celebration."

In contrast, Oakworth Junior Football Club secretary Richard Hewitt says that parents are the root cause of the majority of problems in junior football.

He feels that soccer is too competitive from under-sevens to under-11s and that more effort should be spent in honing skills.

And Hewitt reckons that the publication of results and league tables only adds to the problem.

A member of Give Us Back Our Game - an organisation that was formed last month by youth football coaches, parents and academics from across the United Kingdom in a bid to revamp the junior game - he said: "The vast majority of problems at junior football level are caused by parents."

Give Us Back Our Game wants this country to adopt the style of football used in Holland, where under-sevens and under-eights play non-competitive four-a-side matches.

Under-nines and under-tens play seven-a-side and under-11s nine-a-side before switching to 11-a-side at under-12s.

Hewitt also believes that young children should not be using adult pitches.

He said: "On a full-size pitch, kids don't get a lot of touches on the ball.

"On a smaller pitch they'll get lots and lots of touches, which means they'll improve more."