Brinsley football academy helps children fall in love with the beautiful game

The Adam Thomas Football Academy began as weekly training sessions held at Brinsley Primary School in Moor Road and has now expanded into a number of teams.

Club founder Adam Thomas, who lives in the village, said: “The more children that came to the sessions, the more we were able to start making a proper club out of it and we’ve got three teams now.

“It was originally based around local children from the village but now we’ve got people joining from further afield.”

ATFA Brinsley FC's inaugural tournament was hosted last weekend (May 2) on Brinsley Recreation Ground against other teams from the local area, with dozens of youngsters playing and parents cheering from the sidelines.

The day, complete with a large raffle, helped to raise more than £400 towards the running of the club and future events.

“We also had a big penalty shoot-out and casual kick-about and it was a fantastic day,” Adam said.

“It was the first tournament of hopefully many. We had some really good feedback.”

Training sessions are held at the school every Saturday morning and new members are being urged to sign up.

The sessions for four-to-seven-year-olds take place from 12.30pm to 1.30pm, with eight-to-11s from 1.35pm to 2.35pm.

Adam said: “We accept anybody, regardless of football skills – we cater for every ability.

“We’ve got a couple of autistic children as well and they absolutely love it.

“We really feel how much it means to the kids and it’s great to see their progression as they improve.

"We’ve also just opened sessions for 12-to-14-year-olds on a Wednesday.

“We want to try and get the kids off the park, give them something to do and some proper exercise.

“Our focus is on improving match skills as well as promoting a healthy attitude towards the game.”

The academy also offered its first ever half-term football camp this Easter, which was so successful that a second camp planned for the summer is already booking up fast.

For more information, email [email protected] or call 07415 387583.

Follow the club’s page on Facebook here.