Stepping up a league
Wednesday July 28, 2010
After setting up a number of popular five-a-side leagues a footy mad Shepherds Bush resident is now going one step further and hopes to bring 11-a-side competitions to the borough.
Nilesh Pandit, 24, who lives in Ellerslie Road, just minutes away from QPR’s Loftus Road stadium, has successfully set up three leagues in Hammersmith & Fulham in the last year and his own website: playfiveaside. com.
With further leagues around London, providing matches for about 100 players, he is now using his expertise to start two 11-a-side versions, one to play at the Linford Christie Outdoor Sports Centre in White City and the other at Hurlingham Park in Fulham.
“If I can do it with five-a-side then I can do it with 11,” he said. “The facilities at Linford Christie are really good and the pitches are immaculate. The same could be said for Hurlingham Park as well.”
One player guaranteed to be taking part is Anthony Lewis, 20, also of Ellerslie Road, who already plays in one of the five-a-side leagues with his team, The Bush Boys. Anthony said: “I was watching one of Nilesh’s leagues in Chiswick and he introduced himself. We were looking for a new league anyway and he’s been really helpful.
“He has the right organisational skills so things always run on time.”
Nilesh is aiming for eight teams in both leagues, with the potential for promotion and relegation between the two and a cup competition as well. Both leagues will kick off on August 29 with games to be played on weekends and the seasons lasting for
14 weeks.
Teams will pay £50 to register, with a cost of £80 per team per game or £5 per player for a squad of 15.
In turn, the league will book the facilities, arrange the matches and most importantly, according to Nilesh, provide FA-approved referees and linesmen.
“That is a must,” he said. “A lot of 11-a-side leagues don’t have linesmen because they want to cut costs as much as possible. “I’m a referee myself and I know that you can’t make the calls that linesmen have to make. You don’t have the right perspective.”
Anthony said: “One of the best things about the five-a-side leagues is the referees. “They are really welcoming and they talk to you; it makes you happier to play.”
With the World Cup just finished, a lot of football fans will now resemble the old-style professionals who spent their whole summer in the pub, but Nilesh also insisted less able players shouldn’t be put off.
“The focus is on health and fitness, but it should also be fun and friendly,” he added.
“It’s not going to be Premier League standard. I think there is a lot of talent out there which hasn’t been discovered though. There are good teams looking for a league.”
Despite living so close to the home of QPR, summers spent in Newcastle mean Nilesh wears the black-and-white of the Toon Army. But if he is successful in getting his two new leagues off the ground, scouts from the Hoops could soon be taking their place on the touchlines.
For further details, email: nilesh@playfiveaside. com or call 07894 657869.
