Federation Football Trials

Cambridge Federation Programme 2023 - The Federation programme is going to look a little different in 2023.

I have shared a summary of what we think is going to happen below. We are going to have identification sessions for all the teams as follows:

DATESNovember 27, 2022 and December 4, 2022 at Cambridge Football Club Senior GroundsAssessment will be carried out by independent coaches.TIMESU12/13 Boys 9.00am to 10.30am (both dates)U14/15/16 Boys 10.30am to 12.00 (both dates)U12 and 14 Girls 1:00pm to 2:00pm (both dates)I do not need a response as to whether you are planning to attend.

Please just note the dates on your calendar and come down.Federation Team StructureWe expect to have independent coaches appointed to each of the federation teams and we are working through what the 12th Grade and U12 space looks like but we hope to have independent coaches for these teams as well.

We are proposing the following structure for 2023, depending on numbers of triallists for the various teams:16th Grade – 1 team, squad size 16 players14th Grade – 1 team, squad size 16 playersU14 Girls – 1 team, squad size 16 players13th Grade – 2 teams, squad size 16 players (assuming 11 a side) or 13 players (if 9 a side)12th Grade and U12 Girls – 1 or 2 teams for each group, depending on number of triallists in an academy development programme with a view to forming the core group for the 2024 federation programme. Squad size 13 players

Revisions to the Federation Competition Structure it appears there are going to be some changes in the structure of the competitions in 2023 but currently we do not have any confirmation from WaiBOP on this yet. We will let you know as soon as we have more information.

Current possible changes are:• 12th Grade Boys – it appears there won’t be a Federation programme for 12th Grade in 2023• 13th Grade Boys may move to a 9 a side competition – this is being considered at a New Zealand Football level. Latest information we have is that this will not be in 2023 but be aware it’s on the radar.•

U14 Girls Federation competition – WaiBOP are considering changing the age band for girls from U13 to U14 and consequently the Federation programme for girls will be at this level. This means we will retain an U12 grade for girls and only players born in 2009 and 2010 would qualify for the Federation programme. We will be working closely with Cambridge High School to ensure the girls are able to participate in a meaningful football programme between the two clubs

If you are new to the concept of Federation Football please get in touch and I can send you some more detail.