Below are my views on the decision of the FA to ban competitive league and cup football for children under the age of eight.

I have spent the least year coaching a group of six and seven year olds.

I have coached my son's under seven team this season, having previously coached different age groups for about five years. The view that the FA's announcement on the banning on the collation and publishing of league tables being disappointing, is not shared by all.

The Fenland Youth League do an excellent job in providing the framework that allows local children to play football in an organised manner. It saves coaches a lot of time and effort by providing a structure in which my children can play regular matches.

My experiences are that the use of cup finals, league championships only serves to put unacceptable levels of pressure on children, who are only six, seven and eight years of age.

My view is that league tables are for the benefit of parents and coaches who have the 'win at all costs' attitude and like to boast how good their teams are. The children I coach are naturally competitive in every match they play.

I enjoy the type of matches where my children can make mistakes and develop in an environment where there is no pressure. The only way children will ever look at league tables at this age is if the adults tell them to.

The Fenland League are still going to have the same amounts of children playing football, it may even see an increase. I have observed several matches this season where the 'stronger' kids will play the whole game whereas the 'weaker' ones will only play five-10 minutes, giving little opportunity for skill development.

These 'weaker' ones are often the ones that drift out of football at an early age, when the game is supposed to be for everyone. This is certainly something that has played on my conscience, making me consider the way I look after the kids I coach.

This season we have enjoyed some excellent and enjoyable matches, leaving all kids to go home with a smile, regardless of whether they win or not.

However, I have also seen examples at U7 where children have been shouted at, young referees abused, and fanatical parents screaming and invading the pitch at the end of a game because their team won.

I also had one sad example of when a child in my team broke into tears when a mistake he made was celebrated by the other team.

That is not football development, nor something to be proud of.

So, my view is the FA's decision is a step in a right direction but this needs to go hand in hand with parent and coach education.

There is more work for the FA to do on this. There is a place in football for league winners and cup finals, but not at such a young age.

My suggestion to the Fenland League would be to run a league that concentrates only on fair play and sportsmanship. That may see a nice competitive element to youth football.

Teilo Pearce
March Rangers Under 7