Association Football (soccer) in Hackney Primary Schools
is traditionally the strongest sport in terms of participation and matches played.
There are three locally organised competitions and a 'fledgling' girls festival. Schools football has been organised by the association since 1891 and Hackney has always been among the strongest of the London Boroughs also competing strongly at national level, through competitions and festivals.
Most of the inter-school matches have traditionally, and continue to be played on the famous Hackney Marshes. The biggest accumulation of single sport pitches in the world.
There are three main local competitions exclusively for schools who are members of the association. Namely;
The Hackney Schools Cup
This competition has been running annually since 1901, and is played for one of the oldest original football trophies still being presented; The Horatio Bottomly Throphy, given by a local M.P in 1901. An average entry of around 25 Primary schools is divided into four leagues roughly by geographical criteria. Each team in the league will then play the other over a season stretching from September to March, with a break in the middle months due to most games being after school and the problems with dark evenings. The winning school of each league will then enter a semi-final stage and eventually a League final usually in late April. In the mid 1980's as the school population in Hackney fell, the league was changed to an 8 a-side and lately a 7 a-side league of 30 minutes duration and as such is now inline with modern thinking on the teaching of football to under 11's.
The Eleanor Shield
This competition was first played in 1964 and named after a local school which was bombed in world War 2. It is a knockout competition played as 8 a-side and culminating in a final sponsored by The Hackney Gazette in late spring.
Glyn Williams Cup
This is a 6 a-side competition of 10 minutes duration and no off side, played as a one night festival, and forming the local round of the English Schools' Football Association Adidas Predator Cup, one of the largest football competitions in the world, with an original entry of some 6000 teams. The winners of the Hackney competition go through to the county round and thence on to the regional round, the winners of which play the final at Wembley Stadium. In 1985, Daubeney Junior School were the first Inner London school to win the trophy, The Smith's Crisps Trophy as it was.
Schools from Hackney are also free to enter The Executive cup, run by The Inner London Schools' F.A and The Black Cup run by The London Schools' Football Association.
The Hackney Schools' District Representative Team
Early in September, the association holds trials, to find a squad of about 15 players who will form the Hackney District team to represent the Borough in the various inter-Borough competitions.
The Team is managed and run by John Larter, as it has been since 1971, a local Head Teacher. The team plays in competitions organised by all the Schools' football administrative bodies, namely;
The Adidas Predator 7 a-side inter-district cup of the English Schools' F.A
The Crisp Shield of the London Schools' F.A
The Kay Trophy of the Inner London Schools' F.A
Along with the independently organised Southern Counties cup, for Districts in the south of England and The Finch Trophy, which is organised by the Hackney Schools' Athletic Association as an invitation event for Greater London Districts.
Each year the team also go on tour to the English Schools' F.A, Festival of football on the island of Jersey, where they play teams from across Great Britain in the week long festival.
For the results and fixtures of the District team go to: Results & Fixtures
Recent players who have gone on to play at professional level have been:
Kevin Watson (Spurs, Swindon, Rotherham and Reading),
Jeff Minton (Spurs, Brighton, Port Vale and Leyton Orient),
Ugo Ehiogu (Aston Villa,Middlesborough, England U21 and England),
Ade Akinbiyi (Norwich, Gillingham, Bristol City, Wolves, Leicester, Crystal Palace and Nigeria.),
Al-James Hannigan (Yeovil Town, Slough Town, St Albans)
Melvin Capelton (Southend),Zeke Rowe (Welling) and Timmy Cole (Dagenham and Redbridge).
Hackney win Kay Trophy
On 27th March 1999 Hackney won The Kay Trophy, defeating Wandsworth 4-0 in the final, played at The Douglas Eyre Sports Centre.
The Hackney Schools' Team
which won the Inner London Schools F.A Kay Trophy
March 1999
Taken from The Hackney Gazette.
John Larter: Doyen of the Hackney Primary Schools' Football team
John Larter presents Tony Stokes with the McKee trophy after the annual
challenge match with Islington in May 1998.
That year Tony, of Gainsborough School,
broke the long standing Hackney scoring record with 55 goals in the season.
For the results and fixtures of the District team go to: Results & Fixtures
To contact John Larter about Hackney or Inner London Schools' football email: johnlarter@hsaa.org.uk
This page maintained by David LeFevre:
david@hsaa.org.uk
To link to Hackney Schools' Athletic Association home page, click the button.
