Player Development

Building on the 1v1 to 5v5

Varying the number of players per team inevitably changes the way the game is played. As new players are added, roles change and become more specialised. The structures are called the systems of play as many of you will know. Footballer Direct support grassroots development and hope that more sides will invest in the local youth over spending eye-watering sums on transfers. Working up from 1v1 is a structured learning curve, one that every player who wants to improve should take seriously.

Footballer Direct

1v1 is the basic form of football where each player learns a lot about their opponent in a short time, and learns to counter their strengths and exploit their weaknesses. In 2v2, the same is true- but you are also learning your teammate's strengths and weaknesses in order to give you an advantage over the opposition. In practical terms, if your teammate lacks pace but has great ball skills, you will need to compensate by being the more active and putting yourself in good positions.

3v3 to 4v4 is where it starts getting interesting. Players can change positions as the game takes shape and exploit weaknesses in opponent marking or spacing much better. At this stage, neither team has a goal keeper and so the team must work together to minimise the opponents' angles on goal. When we get to 5v5, it is the same as 4v4 but with a dedicated goalkeeper. Footballer Direct reckon that 5v5 is probably the most widely played game in the UK with hundreds of social and amateur teams competing every week.

To find out more about Footballer Direct and our Player Passport visit our website. The video below will let you see how far we've come in developing our platform to the level it is at now and also find out more about what we can do for you by liking the Footballer Direct Facebook page.