Will 3v3 Change the Future of English Football? - BBC Sport
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'Not in our DNA' - will 3v3 change the future of English football?
By Gary Rose, BBC Sport journalist
Published 7 minutes ago
Shortly after England's disappointing defeat by Argentina at this summer's World Cup, boss Thomas Tuchel offered his view on why the Three Lions are struggling to win major tournaments.
"I think ball possession plays a crucial role," he said. "It's maybe not in our DNA like it is in the Spanish DNA or Argentinian or Brazilian DNA to take the ball, control the game and the ball, which is also a big problem."
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) usually refers to the master blueprint for life—the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms.
In football, a team's DNA starts at grassroots level, where young players are shaped and developed.
This season, the Football Association (FA) has implemented a change in youth football that could well result in a change of the DNA of the English game.
What has been introduced?
For a long time, it was considered normal for children of all ages to play 11 versus 11 matches on full-sized pitches, but in 1999 the FA introduced "mini-soccer" for under-10s. The idea was to provide youngsters with more opportunities to touch the ball and be more involved in the game than they were in large-sided games.
Up until the end of last season, the smallest variation of the game that served as an introduction to football for children under seven was 5v5.
Last month, that was reduced further to 3v3.
This variation eliminates goalkeepers and there are also no referees—the idea is that with fewer players in a "team", each of the three will get more touches of the ball and score more goals.
It is the result of two years of research by the FA in conjunction with Liverpool John Moores University, where over 400 games from under-6 to under-14 level were analysed.
"All of the research done demonstrates that those players having more touches of the ball are more engaged in the game," said John Folwell, the FA's head of grassroots coach development. "They are also making more decisions and are engaged in more physical activity, so that is the thinking behind it."
"There are no goalkeeper and no substitutes, so everyone is active in the game," he continued. They are not sitting on the side watching their mates play, or they are not standing in goal watching their friends play. They are actually involved in the game."
What do the coaches think?
With the new format having only been introduced a few weeks ago, it will take some time before teams and coaches have been able to fully adapt.
The smaller-sized format can pose logistical issues, with more games and more coaches and volunteers needed to oversee them.
BBC Breakfast recently visited Collingham FC in Nottinghamshire to see how the coaches there were adapting to the new format.
"We have three pitches going on at once and all it needs is one parent to be at work and you are trying to keep an eye on three games and nine children at once," said Michael.