This coming weekend 2 County FAs’ as part of their Respect weekend are holding Silent Sidelines, take a read of the Nottinghamshire FA statement below…

“Over the weekend of Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th November, Nottinghamshire FA  alongside Derbyshire FA, we will be holding a Respect weekend. If you have been following our social media channels you would have received a few clues, but we can now announce that the theme of the weekend will be Silent Sidelines.

So what does a Silent Sideline involve?

Well the main aim is to encourage all of the adults involved in mini and youth soccer to give some thought to the things they say and shout, whilst watching their young players take part in football.

Does a Silent Sideline mean total silence?

No. We appreciate that this would be a little false, and probably not the thing that people want at a football match. What we would like to hear is parents and spectators applauding good play from both teams, praise where praise is due, but try to keep this to a minimum. We are also asking coaches to keep their instructions to an absolute minimum.

The whole idea is to let the children play, free from the pressures that can often come from the sidelines.

How do we want YOU to get involved?

Get the message out to your coaches, teams, parents and spectators that you are taking part, all in the name of Respect. We would like you to utilise the Respect Logos by printing them off, cutting them into strips and handing them out to your spectators on matchday. Then get supporters to hold them over their mouths, as a group or individually, and take their photo.

Either using your smartphone at the game, or when you get home, post your pictures on social media, using the hashtag #LetThemPlay, so we can see you supporting our Respect weekend!

If your team play in the YEL, there is a post on Facebook where you can comment and post your pictures.

We’d like to make it clear that this isn’t a pilot, trial or dry run of any rules change that would make this a permanent part of the game in either Nottinghamshire or Derbyshire. It’s a one-off, for one weekend, all in the name of Respect.

There are some great resources now available from the FA, explaining how Respect can help the development of our young players, to help them become better players, better decision makers, and help them to love the game.

This is far more likely to happen if they can just play, free from the pressure of endless, often well intended, instructions and ‘guidance’ from the sidelines.

If you do one thing at the games on the 18th and 19th November 2017, makes sure you #LetThemPlay.”