Why Football’s ‘Silent Support Weekend’ is an own-goal for young children
by ‘For Men To Talk’ founder/director Luke Newman
On the weekend of the 5th & 6th November 2022, the Football Association piloted a ‘Silent Support Weekend’. This was the first of two Silent Support Weekends, with the second to take place in early 2023.
The F.A. encouraged spectators and coaches to show their support during the match through applause only. According to their idea, it would reduce pressure and confusion and give players a better opportunity to find their own voice and develop their game.
More than 10,000 youth games that were played over the weekend were watched in silence as over 27,000 teams across England signed up to the FA’s National Silent Support Weekend.
So, all you had to do is not talk, you could applaud good play from both teams. However, as the Dad of a 12-year-old boy, who in only his second season is still learning the game on a weekly basis, this simply didn’t work. This didn’t allow his coach or myself to encourage him, to guide him, to praise him verbally. For the older children/teenagers, who have developed and understand the game fully, this ‘Silent Support Weekend’ could work for them, but for younger groups, they still need those directions, instructions and motivation.
There was a particularly prominent moment in the game, when my son’s team found themselves behind by a good few goals. Their heads were down, low-spirited and disheartened. They needed the encouragement from anyone who could give it to them to lift that mood, to enjoy the game and try and score a goal of their own. They couldn’t get that due to this ‘silent support’ trial.
My son said “I felt like we had no one to support us there. My manager couldn’t give us instructions about how to play. The only thing that the manager and parents could do is clap, they can’t tell us how to improve or what to do to get our heads back up.”
Only last month, October 2022, Merseyside Football Association decided to cancel all youth football matches one weekend because referees were reporting an increase of abuse towards them from parents and coaches. The abuse can range from shouting, swearing, arguing and in some cases, physical harm. From many years playing the game, coaching and now supporting my son, I agree that a change is required to stamp this out of the game, but this is not this way.
The ‘Silent Support Weekend’ is just one of the ways the Football Association is hoping to put a stop to any bad behaviour on the touch line.
I agree abusive parents are not acceptable, especially at youth level. They should be removed from the touchlines. But supportive parents, who are cheering, should not be punished for those minorities in the game.
As a parent, I would love my son to win games, but my priority is watching him enjoy the game. He comes off the pitch time-and-time again on the losing team, but the smile on his face shows his enjoyment of playing. That’s what youth team football is all about. I want to enjoy it with him by showing my support in praise and positivity, not just for him, but his team-mates too. Simply clapping is not enough.
As supporters and parents we need to remain calm and collective, not argumentative, in helping our children to develop in the football games, to work well in the team and more importantly enjoy themselves, instead of always focusing on the final score.