Beacon are a leading light with new league

Designed for dads and those with other commitments which get in the way of playing traditional Sunday football every week, the Beacon League have come up with a fresh once-a-month format – and it has gone down a storm.

There are 10 teams who have signed up for the competition, which will consist of two groups of five.

The teams in each group will play each other twice, and the group winners will square off in the final – and it will be named after former league committee member Roger Brindley.

Being rolled out for this season, it is the brainchild of league founder and general secretary, David Clinton.

And he said: “It’s gone beyond my wildest dreams, really.

“It was an idea I came up with 18 months ago and it’s for groups of people who got tired of Sunday football, week to week, but want to keep the changing room banter going.

“It’s once a month and it has gone down a storm. It’s bringing people back into football and we have got 10 teams starting.

“We are making them into two groups and the two top teams will go into a final. “The competition will be named after Roger Brindley.”

The Beacon League was founded in 1977 and this new format joins their popular Sunday afternoon league and development division.

“This is football they would not have had. These people are still young, but their circumstances may have changed – kids, work, things like that,” added Clinton.

“It’s about regenerating interest. And 10 teams coming within two or three months shows there is so much interest.

“There’s no other leaguer offering this extension.

“The games will be on Sundays, but if two teams want to bring a game forward, that can be arranged, as long as the games get played. I’m super confident we have a new area of football for Wolverhampton and the surrounding districts.”

One of the 10 teams entering the league are AFC Bradmore. They have been managed by Stuart Wright for several years, and he cannot wait for them to get going.

“The Beacon League is really well-run, and this ticked a lot of boxes for us as a lot of our lads can’t do every week,” he said.

“We’ve played a couple of friendlies and they were really good.

“The football may not be as quick, but it’s very enjoyable. It was a gap that needed to be filled, and it keeps us lads in touch.

“Some lads, when they reach 30, their interest dies down. Even if they haven’t got kids, they may not want to get up on a Sunday and play every week.

“But now, I’ve got loads of players who want to be involved, even lads who have never played for us in other leagues before, so we’re really excited about it and can’t wait to start.”