Small Sided Football (SSF)

"Small-sided games is the single most positive story for our kids to experience the game in decades, and is only bringing us in line - twenty years too late in reality - with the world’s best football countries and their age-specific development models, such as Spain, the Netherlands, Japan, Portugal, France, Italy, Brazil, Argentina… you get the picture.

SMALL SIDES GAMES (U6-U9):

Football Federation Australia (FFA), Football NSW (FNSW) & Nepean District Soccer Football Association (NDSFA) will continue to roll-out small sided football (SSF) in 2010.

The Football Federation Australia (FFA) has announced a national progressive introduction of SSF which commenced nationally in 2008.

St.Marys will continue to conduct an in-house competition for the U6-U7 In conjunction with one or more local Clubs, while the Under 8’s & 9’s will play Home & Away Games. The SSF concept is the foundation for football development in many of the major footballing nations around the world; including the Brazil, Argentina, France, Germany, The Netherlands and England.

Officials at the national level have recognised the need to introduce SSF as the standard playing format for children under the age of 12 in Australia. The justification for taking such an approach is based on the following criteria:

• more fun and individual enjoyment due to smaller fields and simplified rules
• more playing time, which maximises individual participation and involvement
• far more repeated touches of the ball by all players on the field
• more shots on goals
• more involvement leads to greater improvement in fitness

Importantly, a significant amount of research has been conducted in countries where SSF are prevalent, which overwhelmingly highlights benefits such as more touches, greater participation as well as more enjoyment for the children.

Here is some relevant documents for your information.

Small Sided Games Format for 2010

Summary of NDSFA Playing Rules for SSG Football.