The Manchester Secondary Schools’ Boys Football programme 2022/23 operates for 135 teams divided into 17 divisions across the 11-16 age groups. 88 teams take part in the EXCEL leagues, with a further 47 at INSPIRE level. Fixtures are organised for the schools to ensure an equal number of home and away games. Dates are then arranged by the schools for fixtures to take place.
There are 2 different types of participation on offer and when entering schools may select which is most appropriate. NB/ Excel leagues Y8-Y11 will also be organised based on the previous year’s league positions:
EXCEL:- League system which is competitive with two levels of competition (Excel Premier & Excel Championship). Results are recorded, creating league tables which are published via Koboca. For 2022/23 teams are arranged into Premier or Championship and play each other once. Depending on the numbers entered, the format is either a straight league, or where necessary two divisions followed by crossover semi-final and finals.
INSPIRE:- This format is designed to encourage participation at a lower level of performance, There are no league tables or results published, however, results are kept for monitoring purposes only. The teams are arranged into one Inspire Group and schools can play as many or a few games as they wish, with the focus on enjoyment and participation, not the result.
Secondary Boys Football 2022-23
Historical Data
The table below shows the number of teams taking part in league football for boys
| Year | 2018 – 2019 | 2019 – 2020 | 2020 – 2021 | 2021 – 2022 | 2022 – 2023 |
| 7 | 27 | 25 | 26 | 25 | 30 |
| 8 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 29 |
| 9 | 24 | 26 | 25 | 28 | 28 |
| 10 | 23 | 24 | 23 | 24 | 26 |
| 11 | 21 | 18 | 21 | 22 | 22 |
| Totals | 121 | 119 | 121 | 129 | 135 |
With each team averaging 15 players within their squad, we can safely estimate that there are over 2000 boys playing Football in our secondary schools. More than 470 fixtures will be played during the Autumn and Spring terms; with teams divided into 17 separate groups.
Secondary Boys Football League Results 2021-22
Secondary Boys Football League results for 2021-22 are here
SECONDARY FOOTBALL CUP
Manchester Cup 2022/23
In addition to the leagues there are also knockout cups for boys and girls.
In the knockout cup provision for boys, a total of 130 teams compete during the year, aiming for the right to call themselves Manchester Champions. The entry for each year group is as follows:
Year 7: 27 teams
Year 8: 25
Year 9: 26
Year 10: 25
Year 11: 23
In the knockout cup provision for girls, a total of 73 teams compete during the year, aiming for the right to call themselves Manchester Champions. The entry for each year group is as follows:
Year 7: 16 teams
Year 8: 16
Year 9: 15
Year 10: 15
Year 11: 12
Historical Data
The post Covid period saw numbers drop, but they are back up again with a record number of entries for the girls competitions, as the data below shows:
BOYS
| Year | 2018 – 2019 | 2019 – 2020 | 2020 – 2021 | 2021 – 2022 | 2022 – 2023 |
| 7 | 27 | 28 | 27 | 24 | 27 |
| 8 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 24 | 25 |
| 9 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 21 | 26 |
| 10 | 25 | 24 | 25 | 21 | 25 |
| 11 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 18 | 23 |
| Totals | 124 | 127 | 128 | 108 | 126 |
GIRLS
| Year | 2018 – 2019 | 2019 – 2020 | 2020 – 2021 | 2021 – 2022 | 2022 – 2023 |
| 7 | 17 | 19 | 16 | 18 | 18 |
| 8 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 16 |
| 9 | 15 | 18 | 19 | 16 | 15 |
| 10 | 12 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 15 |
| 11 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 12 |
| Totals | 68 | 70 | 71 | 70 | 76 |
With each team averaging 15 players within their squad, we can safely estimate that there are over 3000 players involved in the Manchester Cup across both genders, representing the 202 teams who have entered this year. By the end of March 2023, more than 197 games will have been played to decide who has the honour of calling themselves Manchester Champions this year.