Anyone thinking that the nation has fallen out with football should think again.

I'm not talking about the success of the England team - though congratulations are due to Sven and the team for reaching the World Cup finals. I'm talking about the interest in the sport at a junior level, the commitment and dedication shown by so many youngsters and the adults who organise things behind the scenes.

Some people may well have decided Premiership prices are now too high, that the boorish antics of certain players are not suitable family viewing, but football is far bigger than one group of 20 teams.

I had the great pleasure of meeting Chris and Pauline Ord the other day, a couple who have dedicated their lives to running the Teesside Junior Football Alliance.

This year 8,500 youngsters aged between seven and 17 will compete in the league which now boasts around 500 teams and stretches from Whitby to Thirsk, to Barnard Castle and Bishop Auckland.

That's 8,500 young people who enjoy healthy exercise and learn about teamwork and responsibility. They are also diverted from the temptations of anti-social behaviour and aimlessly wandering the streets or hanging around corners.

I have had a soft spot for local league football since I was a child when I used to watch Stockton at the Victoria Football ground. My father told me to focus on a stocky centre forward who may not have been the biggest, but was certainly the bravest player on the field.

Many years later I was invited to visit the political agent of Tony Blair at his home in Sedgefield. As soon as I walked through the door I realised his agent was the same John Burton who had terrorised defences in the Wearside League all those years ago.

I like what Mr Blair says about putting the fight against anti-social behaviour at the top of his agenda and I'm sure he will not overlook the importance of diversion, of providing opportunities for young people to usefully occupy their time.

The biggest challenge facing the Teesside Junior Football Alliance, which includes several teams from Mr Blair's Trimdon patch, is not volunteers or players, coaches or kit. It is finding enough pitches to go round.

As Chris Ord explained, whilst they are struggling to find grass to play on, there are many pitches at schools across the region which are unused at weekends. The problem is money - the fees to hire the pitches.

Whilst the Football Association is, quite rightly, happy to fund coaching and referee courses and campaigns to encourage ethnic minorities in sport and girls' football, there seems to be no money available to pay for the hiring of facilities.

Children already pay a level of subs and asking them to pay even more will discriminate between the haves and have nots, ultimately leading to poorer children simply having to leave the sport.

There are billions of pounds sloshing around in the Lottery and various Government funds for cutting crime or improving health.

Surely it makes sense to spend a tiny amount of this now on opening up sports fields, rather than spending millions more in the future on dealing with the legacy of youngsters who chose crime and an unhealthy lifestyle because they had "nothing to do".

Published: 14/10/2005