Seriousness of Sunday league football

Across the football pyramid the level of talent and commitment varies massively, from elite level football down to grass roots. I caught up with the manager of local Sunday league team Kexborough Chiefs to discuss the seriousness of football at the lowest level. Brandon Benson created the open age Sunday league team just over a year ago before the pandemic of COVID-19 hit, when asked why the team was created, Brandon said “The team was set up to begin with because our 6 a side team of friends was expanding, and we thought we could play 11 a side on a Sunday as we all love to play.” With the team being set up by a group of mates, the level of skill will vary greatly throughout the squad, which prompted to question of just how serious the team is taken, with such a variety of ability. “We obviously want to win but we do revolve around enjoyment, and nobody being left out on a match day,” said Benson. Kexborough currently sit 11th in the table having played less games than anybody else at this stage, which is down to “a number of factors”, such as the wide range of commitment levels to the team, and willingness to be better. Benson went on to say “One or two take the extra step to be fitter and sharper out of their own time. But a lot of us work full time so do what we can and do our best.” The slow start to the season was expected, with it being the teamsfirst season since its creation, and a wide level of skill across the board, however Benson believes that he and his team have the perseverance to succeed, “We look to develop in training and tackle what went wrong.” Acknowledging what went wrong and needs to be improved upon is something that many amateur teams tend to avoid, instead sticking to what they are comfortable with and focusing solely on the enjoyment factor. Kexborough don’t stick to what they are comfortable with, constantly striving to improve is the aim for this club, with the gaffer having his aims set high, “We want to go as far as possible in the cups and are going to try be up there in the league, individually everyone’s trying to be the best they can and myself from a managerial point of things want to improve as much as I can.” The sky really is the limit for this group of players, even with a wide variety of ability and level of commitment to the football team, the weight of both wanting to win and level of enjoyment go hand in hand, making for a very successful future for this amateur football club.