The History and Development of Gloucester Primary Schools’ Football Association from 1957/1958 onwards
1958
FOUNDED
Longlevens Junior School
Home Pitch
Hallowed Turf
GPSFA 4-0 Cheltenham
First Game
D.Mace x3, R.Wallace
1000+ games
64 Seasons
….and counting
Early Days
The Gloucester Primary Schools’ Football Association (GPSFA) was formed as a stand-alone association at a meeting held on Friday 10th January 1958, although not all 16 members were in favour of the independent running of primary and secondary schools’ football. In that first season, the total income was just £24-9s-6d (£24.47), the bulk of which was a 15 Guinea (£15.75) grant from Gloucester City FC Supporters Club, so it is rather fitting that many ex-GPSFA boys have gone on to play with distinction for the City club including Tom Webb, their appearance record holder.
Prior to 1958 there had been an annual fixture with local rivals Cheltenham which continued for another 16 years before a break of 2 seasons, Gloucester just edging those early encounters by 8 wins to 6, with 2 draws. The first GPSFA game was played on 29th March 1958 on the Market Street pitch in Cheltenham which was notoriously small, even for primary school games. The result was a 4-0 win for Gloucester with a hat-trick for D. Mace of London Road School while the other goal was scored by R.Wallace of Coney Hill. In Gloucester, the Sutgrove playing field (now Ribston Hall), Coney Hill and Elmbridge Schools were often used as venues – each one being considerably larger than Market Street. Within a couple of seasons, the search was on for more opponents and South Gloucestershire were entertained for the first time in 1959/60, the Bristol boys being edged out 3-2. In those very early days, the AGM of the Association discussed at length the cost of hiring a coach to Bristol, so 60 years on, little has changed. In 1961/62 Dursley joined the fixture list and the City boys played out their first drawn game; inevitably the opponents were Cheltenham.
The two fixtures against Cheltenham and Dursley continued until 1968/69 when Stroud and Thornbury were added to the schedule. By this season, Dursley had been on the wrong end of double figure scorelines on no fewer than 4 occasions. In one of those games, Andy Coburn (later to become Chairman of Forest Green Rovers FC) of St Peter’s scored 6 goals and ironically, 27 years later, his son Jeremy played and scored against Gloucester for Dursley. During the sixties the team was selected from boys nominated by their schools – usually 11 were chosen with 3 reserves selected from on average 9 different schools, some of which, like London Road and Lower Tuffley, no longer exist. The 1968/69 campaign was obviously a highlight because all 5 games were won with 29 goals scored and only 5 conceded. This was the only season prior to 1986/87 that 5 games were played – usually it was only 3 or 4.
Press reports of games varied considerably, but quite often the team photograph found its way into The Citizen, although the boys’ names were not always printed in the early accounts. Goal scorers were often referred to by their surnames only, though initials were sometimes used, but it took until the eighties to learn that boys had first names as well.
In the early Seventies, the County Championship became established with Severnside, Cheltenham and Stroud forming the opposition, Dursley having temporarily retired from the fray. In the latter part of the decade Tewkesbury began to appear in the Championship and Dursley re-emerged, but the last game with Severnside was played in 1974/75. In that year’s Schools’ KO Cup Final, Robinswood defeated a Churchdown side containing Guy Whittingham who went on to score many goals in the Premiership for Sheffield Wednesday, but interestingly he did not play in the City team.
The early eighties brought the goal scoring prowess of Dean Enon of Robinswood, who scored all 6 goals against Tewkesbury in 1980/81 and followed it up by scoring all 4 goals for his school in the KO Cup Final that year. It was also the first time that a Gloucester school had reached the finals of the English Schools’ FA six-a-side competition and it was Martyn Ellis who led out the Harewood team captained by Neil Willerton at Wembley Stadium on that historic day.
Full Time
At the beginning of the 1986/87 season it was decided that GPSFA would enter the Witney Cup and commence playing teams from outside the County, meaning that the district team became a ‘full time’ operation. The first opponents from ‘across the border’ were Mid Oxfordshire, the start of a rivalry with Mid Oxon which lasted many years. The season ended with a defeat by Reading in the semi-final of the Witney Cup and the Gloucester goalkeeper displaying his clear ball handling skills that day was the future England Rugby Union international Phil Greening, while in midfield was a promising young player called Neil Mustoe, later to become an England Youth international and a professional with Manchester United, Wigan Athletic, Cambridge United and latterly Gloucester City.
In 1987/88 the Southern Counties Cup was entered for the first time and the fixture list grew to 16 games, including the first visit by the then Welsh Under 11 Champions Deeside, the game ending in a 3-3 draw. The next season saw the creation of the Cotswold League which featured encounters with many regular opponents and ended with the runners-up spot being secured. A share in the Gloucestershire County Championship made for a successful season. The year also saw the formation of the GPSFA B Squad, an initiative undertaken so that more players could be given an opportunity to play representative football, the first game resulting in a 1-2 defeat by Stroud.
The 1989/90 season saw the fixture list rise to 39 games with the Cotswold League title coming to the city for the first time and the County Championship being won outright, though sadly the last of the 33 games with Cheltenham was played during this campaign. 1989/90 also saw the first visit to the Jersey Primary Schools’ Festival of Football and at the end of the week first place was achieved with a 2-0 win over Thurrock. Two members of that side were Wayne Thomas and Matthew Gregg, each of whom went on to play for a number of football league clubs. Wayne is to date GPSFA’s only million pound player, while Matthew is the only ex-player to appear in the Champions League (for Bohemians of Ireland).
The next season saw a staggering 46 games played, a figure which was largely due mainly to reaching both the Southern Counties and Witney Cup finals. The former was won for the first time with victory over High Wycombe, but only after needing 3 games to get past Oxford City in the semi-finals. This highly successful side lost only 4 games and acquired a considerable amount of silverware over the course of the season. The games with Deeside brought Shayne Bradley (Southampton, Mansfield Town and Chesterfield) and Michael Owen (Liverpool, Newcastle Utd. and Manchester Utd.) into opposition and who would have guessed that 4 seasons later they would form a striking partnership for England Schools’ U15s. By now the B team fixture list had risen to 17 games and the B team version of the County Championship had been won.
The 1991/92 campaign saw both sides retain their respective County titles with 100% records. There then followed a season of triumphs on the field with the A team winning the Cotswold League and the Southern Counties Cup Final against Newham 3-2 on a memorable night at Palmer Park in Reading. This win was truly remarkable because the Newham goalscorer Amos Foyewa was a relative giant (about three times taller than his strike partner, one Jermain Defoe) when compared to the Gloucester side and Kevin Rogers, the scorer of the winning goal, went through most of the day having forgotten not only his boots, but also that the final was being played on that day at all! The B team retained its County title, were runners-up in the Cotswold B League and embarked on their first tour of Devon and Cornwall.
In 1993/94 the A team took the BP Mid-West League title for the first time. The year that followed was one of highs and lows; it took until well into November to achieve a first win but later in the season saw a spell of 8 consecutive victories. The Southern Counties Cup Final was reached again, third place was secured in Jersey and there was a rare win over Flintshire, the new name for old rivals Deeside. The B team won the full County title and entered the Webster Shield league for the first time. By now the length of the fixtures list had stabilised, with the A team playing between 30 and 35 games and the B team playing about 10 fewer, but their opposition included a growing number of A sides.
1995/96 was another year of triumphs and near misses. It was the year that Jade Johnson-Manley became the first girl to play for the A side. The BP Mid-West and Cotswold League titles were won and the annual visit to the Jersey Festival ended with the team in first place out of an entry of 16. Both major Cup semi-finals were also reached. The B team continued its steady progress in the Webster Shield and the County title was retained once more.
The 1996/97 season saw the B team lift the Webster Shield title for the first time, retain the County Cup and venture to the North East to take part in the North Tyneside Festival of Football, returning with 3 wins over associations who numbered amongst their old boys, Alan Shearer and Bryan Robson. The A team finished their season strongly with runners-up spots in both their leagues and a last game win at powerful Manchester.
1997/98 saw the fortieth anniversary of the formation of the association and events included a dinner attended by over 100 guests, including the principal speaker Bobby Gould, the then Wales Team Manager. On the field the A side saved its best results for the Jersey Festival and the B team remained unbeaten at the North Tyneside Festival. The following season saw the A team put together a run of 17 wins interrupted only by a goalless draw at St Albans. This run helped towards a highly successful campaign and in most competitions the team ended up in the number two slot. The B squad regained the Webster Shield with what proved to be a free scoring side.
1999/2000 brought us the Millennium Dome and a season of change. Only Year Six pupils could now play eleven-a-side district football, so the association formed an Under Ten squad to play seven-a-side games. All the schools’ leagues and cups became seven-a-side competitions. A Girls’ District side was formed for the first time along with girls’ inter-school leagues/cups, though this did not stop girls from representing their schools in the established competitions. The District A and B sides again produced outstanding performances at the end of season festivals, while the B team retained the Webster Shield following a great performance against Bristol.
A New Millennium
The 2000/01 season saw both the A and B squads sharing the titles of their respective league competitions. Both sides were free scoring with the B’s having a long unbeaten run in mid-season. The A’s, having lost 9 of their first 16 games, then went on to lose only 3 more times during the second half of the season and were rewarded with fourth place at the Jersey Festival. This was the year that the Girls’ representative squad entered competitive football for the first time by joining the Staffordshire League (the nearest to Gloucester!) and finished as runners-up. Grace McCatty completed a unique treble by making representative appearances for all three squads. Grace has since played in the Womens’ FA Cup Final, while it was also pleasing to see several old boys making the headlines for Football League clubs over the course of the campaign. At the end of the season, Bob Owen and Lin Harvey completed 500 games in charge of the A Squad, a milestone which represents, amongst other things, considerable commitment, which was mirrored by all the players on the field.
Season 2001/02, the forty-fifth of the association, saw 4 representative teams take to the field. The A Squad finished joint winners of their League and came out on top at the Jersey Festival following a skilful and strong week-long performance. Just one defeat in their final dozen games pointed to a side with both stamina and determination. The B Squad now had a formidable fixture list which included 3 strong A squads in the North Tyneside Festival and their results did them credit in such company. Girls’ football continued to develop with skill levels rising noticeably and their season culminated with the A Team winning the Staffordshire League title.
2002/03 saw the A and B Squads play a total of 70 games, an indication of a successful season. The A team won the Cotswold League, were semi-finalists in the Witney Cup and in mid-May in the driving rain at Clarence Park defeated St. Albans 2-1 in the final of the Southern Counties Cup. The B team had their second longest season, achieving the runners-up spot in both their leagues and produced another fine performance at the North Tyneside Festival. The Girls’ Squad competed in the Mowbray-Staley Shield / Staffordshire League and proved to once more be competitive against some big city teams.
Both the A and B sides found goals hard to come by during 2003/04. The A team conceded a little over a goal a game, so most matches proved to be very tight encounters including 4 matches against Orpington from Kent. Third place was achieved in a very competitive Cotswold League which now featured most of the stronger associations in the west. The B Squad just missed out on sharing the County title, but did manage to share 10 goals with South Birmingham in what can best be described as ‘one of those games’.
The 2004/05 campaign saw both the A and B squads scoring at an average of over 3 goals a game. The A side reached the final of the Southern Counties Cup and won all their games at the Jersey Festival to secure top spot. Both squads won their respective Cotswold League and the B team also won the Webster Shield by beating Bristol B 1-0 in the Play-off Final. The Mowbray-Staley Shield and the Staffordshire League were won by the Girls’ Squad. In the ESFA Six-a-Side competitions for individual schools, the association provided both the boys and girls’ Gloucestershire County Champions, as Kingsholm and Hardwicke each won their respective titles to complete a season which can best be summed up as having strength in depth at all levels. While in Jersey, Brian Stait oversaw the one thousandth A/B game played under his Chairmanship – and he had watched the vast majority of them.
In 2005/06 we saw both squads have very enjoyable seasons both on and off the field. The A side followed an excellent time at the Jersey Festival by winning the Witney Cup at the Association’s twentieth attempt, thanks to a 4-1 final win over Solihull. The B Squad hit the top of the Cotswold B Team League at the end of the season and followed this by retaining the Webster Shield after a 2-1 win over their South Gloucestershire counterparts. Both finals were exciting encounters and on each occasion the Gloucester side came out after half time and just got stronger and stronger as the games went on.
2006/07 was a very successful fiftieth season for the independent Gloucester Primary Schools’ FA. The association had its first dedicated set of changing rooms following the summer transformation of part of a storage building at Longlevens. The Cotswold League A and B team titles were won. In the cups the A Side reached the final of Southern Counties Cup, losing by the only goal to Wandsworth. The B side lost by the odd goal in five to Sutton Coldfield in the Webster Shield play-off and took a half share in the County Cup following a 1-1 draw with South Gloucestershire. On the individual front, Zack Kotwica (Finlay Primary School) scored an incredible 66 goals for the A side over the course of the campaign’s 35 games.
2007/08 saw the season start with the new catering facilities in use at Longlevens. The A Squad reached the final of the Witney Cup, losing 1-2 to Solihull and were narrowly beaten into second place in the Cotswold League. The B Squad proved to be a free-scoring side, equalling the then highest number of goals scored in a season and in 3 games fewer than the 2002/03 team. They retained their Cotswold B title and narrowly lost out on a place in the Webster Shield Final. Good performances were seen from the Under-10 and Girls’ Squads. Dinglewell became only the second Gloucester school to reach the National Finals of an ESFA competition. They were the runners-up in the Large Schools’ 7-a-sides, losing 1-2 to a school from Mansfield in the final at the new Wembley Stadium.
In 2008/09 the A Squad completed a 40-game season with only 4 losses and scored 179 goals, with Edjida Mbunga contributing 63 of them. The Southern Counties Cup was won for a record fourth time, the Berkshire League by winning every game and the Cotswold League without losing a match. One of the highlights of the season was playing the Liverpool FC Academy on Merseyside, the premiership club having invited and paid for the city team to make the trip up the M6. The B Squad enjoyed a successful season which culminated in the winning of the Webster Shield after extra time and penalties in a game against a strong Sutton Coldfield side. In the ESFA Inter District 7-a-side competition, the B Squad reached the South-West Finals and were unbeaten in 7 games including winning the County title. The Development and Girls’ Squads continued to expand their fixture lists, the Girls finishing with an impressive away win at Newbury. For the second year running, a Gloucester school side reached Wembley in the Primary Schools’ 7-a-side competition. In the eventual final, Harewood defeated Manor Farm Community Junior School from Hertfordshire 3-1 to become the first-ever Gloucester school to be crowned national champions.
The 2009/10 season saw the coldest winter spell for many years and the narrow avoidance of more than one travel difficulty. The A Squad reached the Witney Cup Final, losing 1-5 to South Gloucestershire. Mid-table positions were secured in both the Cotswold and Berkshire Leagues, while the B Squad achieved an association first by playing two games in the Republic of Ireland. With fewer B Teams operating around the country, the majority of their games were played against A Squads and many good performances were seen against some strong opposition. Rob Lloyd and Stuart White stood down at the end of the season after eight years of guiding the B Squad through 217 games and enjoying an overall winning record. The Girls’ and Under 10 Squads continued to thrive with the latter having a very challenging fixture list.
More Firsts
Season 2010/11 saw both the A and B teams finish with very similar playing records in percentage terms and both averaged just over three goals a game. The A team scored 104 goals, together with strong finishes in both the Cotswold and Berkshire Leagues. During the Jersey Festival they faced a Gloucester first, the Haka, performed by the Western Bay of Plenty side from New Zealand. With a new management team comprising Messrs Wixey, Lewis, Harris and Best, the B Squad scored a record 88 goals in losing only 4 of their 29 fixtures (17 against A teams) and again reached the ESFA Inter District 7-a-side South-West Regional Finals. After several very close encounters they finished runners-up in both the Midland Challenge and Geoff Richards Memorial Trophies. The Girls’ and Under 10 Squads again had successful seasons with several close encounters.
2011/12, and the A team shared the Berkshire League title and went down narrowly to the hosts in the first-place play-off in the Jersey Festival. The Witney Cup Final saw a narrow 1-2 defeat by Chiltern and South Bucks at Thatcham Town. Together with the B Team, a share in the Cotswold League title was secured. The B Squad played a record 32 games (20 against A sides) and remained unbeaten for the second year running against fellow B teams. A second undefeated season in the Geoff Richards Memorial Trophy League saw the side lift the title for the first time and an unbeaten trip to the North Tyneside Festival was another notable achievement. The Girls’ and Under 10 Development Squads continued to thrive with each side recording just a single loss on their results list.
2012/13 was the last season of eleven-a-side games at district level. The A Team made its first visit to the North Tyneside Festival and, as with much of their season, they were involved in three close games. They scored in all 35 games played and finished runner-up in the Cotswold League, third in the Berkshire League and were semi-finalists in the Southern Counties Cup. The B team scored a record 91 goals in 30 games and took second place in the Geoff Richards Memorial League, together with a share of the County Cup. At the North Tyneside Festival all three games were won with clean sheets. The Under 10 Development Squad finished their season strongly, being unbeaten after Christmas. It was five wins out of six for the Girls’ Squad which brought a fitting close to the four-year tenure of manager Tom Brunsdon. The season also saw Gloucester school Elmbridge reach the national finals of the Primary Schools’ 7-a-side competition which were held at The Hive, the impressive training ground of Barnet FC. In the National Final itself, they lost 1-2 to Edmund Waller Primary School from Lewisham.
The 2013/14 season saw nine-a-side games at district level with smaller pitches and goals. Both A and B teams took part in the Jersey Festival with the A team reaching the first-place play-off, while a win on the last day of the season by the A team secured the Cotswold League title for Gloucester. The B team started the season with ten straight victories and went on to win the Geoff Richards Memorial League for the second time. They also played a record 34 games and scored over a hundred goals for the first time. The Girls’ Squad won all eight of its fixtures, scoring 70 goals and conceding only 6. The Under 10 Development Squad lost their first game and then went on to win their remaining six fixtures.
In 2014/15 the A Squad secured runners-up position was in the Cotswold League. The A team reached the Southern Counties Cup Final where they were narrowly beaten by Portsmouth by the odd goal in nine, while runners-up spot in the Berkshire League was achieved. The B team played a record 37 games and won a share of the new Cotswold Challenge Shield. The Girls’ Squad completed a second unbeaten season to make it 20 wins on the trot with no fewer than 139 goals scored. Kiannah Hawkins-Sheere (Grange) with 33 goals in 12 games headed the scoring charts. Again, the Development Squad lost only one of their 7 games and averaged over 5 goals a game. The four sides between them played 94 games which allowed nearly 50 players to experience representative football.
Goals
2015/16 saw the City A Squad finish as runners up in the Cotswold League, achieve 4th place at the Jersey Festival, win the EW Trophy and share the GS Cup. Finlay Jenner (Dinglewell) netted 44 times to establish himself as the squad’s all-time third highest goalscorer. The B Side topped the Geoff Richards League for the third time and also won the Cotswold Challenge Shield. Max Weatherley (Dinglewell) hit 27 goals, the first time the season’s highest scorer from both squads attended the same school. Both A & B teams reached the Shires Cup semi finals. The Girls’ Squad meanwhile took part in their first overnighter as part of their visit to the Woking Festival and along with the Development Squad continued to flourish in another very enjoyable GPSFA season.
The following season began slowly for both As & Bs, but each recovered well as the campaign progressed. After three wins in their opening nine games, the A Side embarked on a run of just 4 defeats in 22, culminating in becoming joint winners of the Cotswold League. The B Team reached the Geoff Richards Final where they went down to Orpington, while the Girls’ squad reached the National Finals in Derby for the first time.
2017/18 proved to be another hugely enjoyable campaign. The Girls’ Squad, under new coaches Ed Delaney and former player Jess Bebber completed their fullest schedule ever, winning the Birmingham KO after beating South Birmingham 4-2 in the final, reaching the semi-final stage of the Girls’ Southern Counties Cup and narrowly missing out on a place at the National Finals. Both A & B Squads finished with fine playing records and runners up spots in the Cotswold and Geoff Richards Leagues respectively, while the Bs also reached a second successive GR KO Cup Final, Stevenage the winners on this occasion. The two sides suffered just two Jersey Festival defeats between them, the association’s best all-round performance at the event.
The 18/19 campaign proved to be statistically the most successful in the association’s history. The A Squad became the first team ever to win the Southern Counties League & Cup, Shires Cup and Cotswold League quadruple, with Sopuruchukwu Obieri (St Paul’s) recording an astonishing 86 goals, breaking Zack Kotwica’s 12-year record with a bit to spare. The B Side also lifted four pieces of silverware – the Geoff Richards League, Cotswold Shield, Midland Challenge Trophy and the inaugural Anglo-Welsh Cup, a competition that saw GPSFA go unbeaten throughout the group stage before beating Newport 6-2 in the final. The sides jointly won 8 out of 12 Jersey fixtures, while the Girls’ Squad recorded their best-ever national placing, finishing equal third in the National Finals played at Liverpool Academy. The Birmingham KO Cup was retained and a first-ever ‘full’ tour completed, the squad spending three days in London / Hertfordshire during February half term.
2019/20 was moving along nicely until Covid struck in early March. The A Squad just beat the shutdown to become only the second association to retain the Southern Counties League crown, Noah Bennett’s late equaliser against Wokingham securing the title outright with a game to spare. The Bs meanwhile were leading the Geoff Richards League when matches were suspended, while the Girls shared first place with Woking in the abridged SCL. The annual Easter tour to Jersey was cancelled, though the Girls’ Squad completed two tours in the same season for the first time ever. The A & B Squads eventually completing their respective campaigns as U12s in late October 2020, almost 14 months after they had begun, making 2019/20 the longest season in GPSFA history.
With the worldwide Pandemic at its height, the 20/21 season saw the summer trials delayed, a pair of lengthy lockdowns negotiated and all tours cancelled. With the district season extended to the end of June for the first time however, the three U11 squads still managed an amazing 60 match days between them and despite the numerous obstacles encountered, no-one even threatened to stop smiling. Off the field, the pavilion got a new roof and a 5-year extension to its lease, while on the field it was a case of runners-up in most things: the SCL & SCC for the As, the GRKO for the Bs and the GSCL for the Girls, who also reached the semi finals of the National KO following fine victories over Swansea, St Albans and Barking & Dagenham.
Last season was one of great progress for all three U11 squads. The post-pandemic teams struggled early on, but the As ended their season by reaching the Southern Counties Cup Final, eventually going down 0-1 to a skilful Chiltern side after defeating Basingstoke, Portsmouth and Swindon en route to the decider. The Bs ended up winning the Cotswold Challenge Shield and finishing runners-up in both the Geoff Richards League Cup and the Southern Counties League Cup Plate competition. The Girls’ side embarked on three tours for the first time and won the SCLC Plate trophy in their final outing of the season. In addition, a Girls’ Development group was initiated, meaning that GPSFA ran five district teams for the first ever time.
Footnote
When GPSFA turned ‘full time’ in 1986, it had £14 in the bank, a ten-year old kit, one team, a single football and a skeletal fixture list to its name. Now the association has four thriving representative teams that, the last two seasons apart, play over a hundred district games a year and embark on eight annual tours between them.
Through a season, individual skills improve and those individuals become a team. Gloucester sides are renowned for having a great collective spirit and their ability to develop as teams both on and off the field over the course of a district season.
Over the last 64 campaigns, the City A Side has principally had only five managers / management teams: Frank Stephenson (8 seasons), Don Bewley (15), Rob Morris (4), Bob Owen / Lin Harvey (21) (with assistance from Martyn Ellis, Stuart Eckford & Kevin Howie) and Bob Owen / Steve Wilson (17), while Adrian Stalley became the association’s Head of Coaching in 2016. The last campaign was number 38 for Bob, which is well over half of the association’s 64 seasons and a current total of more than 1,250 games as manager.
Ken Blackburn completed 10 years in charge of the B team, while his original partner Andy Hainsworth was at the joint helm for 5 years. The team of Rob Lloyd and Stuart White completed eight seasons. The current B team management duo of Paul Wixey and Lee Harris have just completed 12 years in the hot seat with assistance in some of those seasons from Lewis Cook and Matt Best.
Jason Brentley/Paul Wixey/Stuart Ratcliffe and Anne Hanson/Tom Brunsdon/Ed Delaney/Jess Bebber/Katie Edwards have, over the last decade, taken the lead in looking after the U10 Development and Girls’ Squads respectively. Brian Stait was Chairman of the Association for a total of 24 years and remained its elder statesman until his death in 2013, with Keith Steadman fulfilling the role from then until 2020. This continuity and dedication has contributed greatly towards the very sound performances given by the sides over the years and the development of each squad member in many more ways than simply football.
The GPSFA is fortunate to have fourteen ‘full time’ people involved in ensuring that its activities continue to be a big success. This strength in depth is the envy of many other associations, but above all it helps in providing an organised and high-level football and social experience for many primary school children, while the facilities and the quality of the pitch at Longlevens put it amongst the best at this level in the country. Overall, the stature of the Association has never been higher within Schools’ football nationally, but above all it is about providing enjoyment and opportunities for so many youngsters, who in turn regularly become tremendous ambassadors for the City of Gloucester.
