I was born 1946, an age toatlly different to that experienced by today's children, I grew up in the days when children had space and parents that cared but that did not have to watch over their off spring every waking hour. 

Turn the clock back to the mid- fifties. The streets did not have cars in them; families could not afford them. Children played in the streets & parks until dusk, after tea they played floodlit games under streetlights until dragged in by their parents. They had creative childhoods. Without television or computer games to distract them they interacted & socialized with each other outdoors. My family were the first in the street to get a television. I will always remember the Day, Coronation day 1953; our living room was full of visitors to marvel at the new magic box. Children’s programmes were limited to 1 hour per day at teatime! No ‘Neighbours’ or ‘Home & Away’ to watch. Kids played all hours in the street using any size football that the one kid with a ball happened to possess. If they did not have a ball they improvised with a tin can or any object that could be kicked. They organized themselves, parents never got involved, they were too busy working, father in useful employment & mother at home washing, cooking & all the other household chores mothers did to make a home. When they went home they new mother would be there.

 StreetSoccer kids were competitive but fair. Teams were picked evenly, ‘if you have him then we want those two’. The distance between the goal posts would vary depending on the size & ability of the goalkeeper. An older brother may play, but only if he used his weaker foot & did not score. Three new lads would arrive ‘can we play?’ ‘Of course you can.’ We’ll have you two you have him. Teams were always being equalized. Games were stopped if they became uncompetitive!! Today’s youngsters play in organized leagues before they are out of nappies, cheered by proud parents that enter delirium as their side wallop less skilled opposition.

 StreetSoccer kids learned their skills through the greatest of teachers ‘self discovery.’ With no televised football or computer games to keep them at home: Street soccer Parents lost their children to the streets; safe in the knowledge they would return when hungry. The long hours they played unwittingly gave them super fitness, strong aerobic capacities, and natural skills & techniques today’s coaches & sports scientist can only try to emulate.

 Len Shackleton, Billy Wright, Bobby Moore, George Best, Ton Finney, Stanley Mathews, Dennis Law, Jimmy Greaves, Rodney Marsh & the Charlton’s. Where does the list stop? They were exciting players that could ‘lift’ & entertain a crowd – they had character. You travelled to see them knowing that they could excite you to the point the hairs on the back of your neck stood up when they attacked they turned it on.

 What happened to StreetSoccer?

Cars became affordable, but unfortunately people lived in terraced houses without garages and only street parking; consequently families did park the new status symbols in the street. Cars gradually choked the streets forcing parents to stop children playing in the streets for their safety.

The car gave families freedom to travel but at the price of robbing kids of their natural habitat.

 Has StreetSoccer been replicated in the late 20th Century?

Not in the UK, but we have learned from it and mixed it with the best of modern coaching. Ajax FC of Holland is accepted as the first club to recognize the loss of StreetSoccer and the subsequent decline in standards and to replace it with structured coaching. After early random success Ajax produced a production line of classic footballers. This production line was funded by German & Italian clubs awash with money willing to pay a king’s ransom to their less wealthy neighbours for their ‘finished product.’ As clubs have imitated Ajax their influence has diminished but not the respect for their pioneering work. Ajax & the Dutch national side are the only European teams to be accorded the glowing respect we have for Brazilian soccer where StreetSoccer still exists and players are not rushed during their football puberty.

 Can StreetSoccer be re-invented?

City developers have destroyed the natural habitat of children and StreetSoccer, which said everything, is not doom & gloom, we can mix StreetSoccer and utilize it with the best of our modern coaching skills. Parents & schools can encourage children back to the parks & greens to play small-sided games, organizing themselves, arguing, resolving disputes without adults to mediating. Today’s children need to be out in the fresh air, just as StreetSoccer kids did, practicing, playing, juggling, or just passing a ball against a wall.

Yes because Futsal, the game dominated by Brazil, is becoming established in the UK. Futsal has all the ingredients of StreetSoccer and more.