Information about the league, what it stands for, where it began.

League Ethos:
The SDFPL was set up in 1998 to give local churches the chance to serve their communities by providing regular, competitive football, played in the spirit of fair play. A league where we respect, trust and support each other, on and off the field and where the emphasis is on enjoying the game.

The SDFPL also gives churches a chance to share the good news about Jesus through their friendships and the way they treat and serve the people involved in the league.

Of course, anybody of any class, creed, colour, religion etc is welcome to play in the League. In fact, maybe just kicking a ball around together might help us understand each other better.

If you are happy with what we stand for and want to enjoy great games of footy without kicking each other up in the air, come and join us!


Respect & Code of Conduct:
The SDFPL was set up with an ethos which included playing football in the spirit of fair play. This has remained a cornerstone of the League and is as important today as it was when the League was set up in 1998. It is the name of the League and it is one of the driving forces of all decision making within the League.

The League introduced Codes of Conduct in 2006 for both Players and Management Staff as a way to formalise the requirements of all who participate in the League.

In 2008 the FA introduced the Respect Campaign, which included implementation of very similar Codes of Conduct. The League immediately signed up to the campaign and adjusted some of the wording within the Codes of Conduct to align with the Respect versions. Since the requirements of the SDFPL Codes are stronger than the FA requirements, certain conditions were left as originally written.

The League has worked hard to further focus and improve fair play, through enhancing the fair play scores, awarding trophies for fair play and monitoring all teams, new and existing, to ensure the high standards already set are adhered to. Read on to learn more!


League History:
The Sheffield & District Fair Play League (SDFPL) was set up in 1998 in order to provide local churches in the Sheffield district to play football in a safe, friendly but competetive environment, away from the more physical Saturday/Sunday pub leagues.

The league in its early years was run by David Schofield with help from Kit Barker.

Swallownest Bethesda's Mick Grady became involved in revamping the admin and organising a league website in 2001.

With help from Simon Nicholson, Matt Bradford, Andy Niblock and Mark Hinde, the league continued to grow steadily.

In 2005, David Schofield left the league and a new committee was formed from people who had been previously involved in maintaining the league in order to spread the workload from one to multiple individuals.

Tchad Western came in as new chairman with Steve Roscamp, Nick Tait, Dan Spink and Danny Taylor along with existing members Matt Bradford and Mick Grady headed up the new committee. Stephen Field was brought in as a liaison with the referees and sucessfully took over the role as league secretary when Mick Grady relinquished the role in 2007.

In 2009, Danny Taylor took over the role as chairman with further committee support coming from Steve Spink.

In 2013 both Mick Grady and Stephen Field decided to step down from their positions on the League Committee, both having served the League superbly for a number of years. Wesley Roscamp was welcomed on to the Committee in September of 2013.

The league has grown enormously in recent years and made a big impact in the local community raising over £20,000 for our chosen charity, The Sheffield Children's Hospital, in our League Cup Final Presentations held annually at Sheffield United's Bramall Lane.

The League now boast over 30 clubs and while other league numbers are falling, the SDFPL continues to grow at a steady rate.


New teams:
The SDFPL is always happy to receive applications from new teams looking to join the League. New Teams who want to join a League that puts fair play at the centre of football are very welcome to apply to join us.

If you are interested in entering a new team into the SDFPL please email us at sdfpl@fairplayleague.co.uk for further information.