THE newly-formed Mitsa Kits Hunts Youth League has been declared a massive success – according to its chairman John Walker.

THE newly-formed Mitsa Kits Hunts Youth League has been declared a massive success – according to its chairman John Walker.

Introduced at the start of the season, it has allowed U11 level youngsters to take part in smaller sided games (9v9) on smaller pitches and smaller goals.

It was brought in as part of an FA initiative to help bridge the gap between Mini-Soccer (7v7) and the 11-a-side games that place in the Cambridgeshire Colts League all over Huntingdonshire on Sunday mornings every week throughout the season.

Walker said: “It has, thankfully, proved very successful and gives more opportunity for all of the players to get more touches of the ball – and aids their development – which is what really matters.

“The fact games are played within 15 miles of Huntingdon, unlike the Colts league which is 25 miles around Cambridge, also makes a big difference.

“And, unlike Colts football, the majority of games are played on a Saturday as opposed to a Sunday, which has paid dividends.

“It has given quite a few of the players who like to play rugby on a Sunday an opportunity to continue doing both for another two years.”

This season, the Hunts Youth League consists of an eight-team U11A Division and nine-teams contesting U11B, with two promoted from B and two relegated from A and the end of the season.

Additionally, there is the bonus of a Champions League-style tournament –which all teams enter – with a group stage followed by the knockout rounds.

Three groups of four, along with a five-team group played each other home and away, with the top two teams in each progressing to a one-legged quarter-final.

The league, which next year will also incorporate an U12 division, is guided, along with chairman Walker, by Hunts FA officials Mark Frost and Alan Poulain, with secretary Marina Howlett also on the committee.