There is a range of teams in Burton, all catering to different age groups including an under-7s, under-8s, under-9s, under-10s, under-11s, under-12s, under-13s under-14s, under-15s and under-16s teams. All of these teams train and practice at Winkleton Fields apart from the under 16s who train every Friday at the Mudeford Wood Community Centre. There is also a girls’ junior football team in Burton and the age range for these groups go from school years one to eight.

Burton Football for Kids

Winkleton Fields can be found just outside Burton on Stony Lane, and all of the home matches for all teams are held here. No dogs are allowed in the fields and cars can be parked in the field area, making it easy for visitors to get to and from the matches. There are three mini pitches, four mid-sized pitches and two larger pitches which are reserved for games for the under-15 and under-16 teams.

Teams in the BJFL

There are more than 300 teams which take part in the junior football league in Burton and here are just a handful of the current teams:

• Stapenhill FC

• Repton Casuals White

• Doveridge FC

• Gresley Juniors Lions

• Rolleston FC

• Stretton Swifts U18

• Snarestone United

• Ashby Ivanhoe

• Midway FC

• TS Sports Claret

• Stretton Eagles United

• TS Sports

• Belvedere Park Juniors

Burton football is really popular and it provides local youngsters with fun things to do and there are many different teams suitable for all age ranges to play in.

A History of the BJFL

After going out of existence in 1983, the BJFL was restarted in 1988 and is now dedicated to ensuring that local children enjoy themselves in a safe environment. The last 20 years have seen many changes in the BJFL and chairmen and committee members have come and gone, but the same chairman has now been in place since the 98/99 season when the Mini or Small Sided Soccer scheme was piloted. In the 98/99 season there were 37 teams playing on Sunday afternoons and Saturday mornings. The committee now features 15 people who devote their spare time to local Burton children in the quest to entertain them on the football fields.

Currently, more than 300 teams with a total of almost 40,000 players from 55 clubs now play in the BJFL and this includes the league for girls which was introduced in 2004. The Burton Junior Football League has to raise a lot of money every year in order to cater for such a large amount of teams and they are always on the look-out for new sponsorship deals. The more money that they can raise, the more coaches and staff they can employ, allowing even more youngsters in the area the chance to join in all the fun!

Sponsorship for Burton’s Junior Teams

Slades Homes, HSBC, Winkton Auto Centre, Coastline Produce Limited, Christchurch Mortgages, JD Brickwork and Holton Homes are all part of the sponsorship deals for the junior teams in the area. The BJFL works hard to ensure that as many local sponsors as possible are active in supporting the local teams and avidly encourages more companies to take part in the sponsorship deals.