Oliver Selfe is General Manager of the Soccer Dome and he believes that changing lifestyles are the reason why many players prefer the small sided format to the traditional eleven-a-side game: “Five a-side football is rapidly becoming the most popular sporting activity in the country because it’s fast, quick and doesn’t take up your whole day. There is no aggravation to it and anybody can organise a five a-side team.”
The FA’s own research into the sport backs up this theory, with most players who play either format of football claiming that five-a-side is more suited to today’s lifestyles. Furthermore, some 70 per cent of footballers believe that it’s more difficult to get an eleven-a-side team together, a factor that Oliver Selfe believes five-a-side operators have capitalised on: “It’s easier to register and less hassle. Everything is done for you all you have to do it simply turn up, thrown your money on the table, and play.”
