AA Academy Under-8s are among the Camden Youth League teams who will be playing at Castlehaven after a spell travelling to west London for their Saturday fixtures

THERE is some big breaking news in one of the capital’s bustling youth football leagues that is sure to bring a smile to the faces of coaches and players who like to talk tactics rather than traffic.

More than 500 youngsters from across ­Camden, Islington and Westminster flock to their fixtures at Coram’s Fields in Bloomsbury every Saturday.

But organisers behind the Camden Youth League wanted to create “even more opportunities” for young footballers to play the beautiful game, and last month started hosting matches at Ashburnham Community Primary School in Kensington & Chelsea.

The move was proving difficult and too time-consuming for some teams playing in the Under-7s and Under-8s competition, however.

And we can now exclusively reveal to those teams that their next fixture after the half-term break is going to be held “in the heart of Camden”.

“We are delighted to announce that as of Saturday, November 4, our Under-7s and Under-8s division will have a new home at the sports pitches in Castlehaven,” said Ash Rahman, who will be helping oversee the opening round of games when they kick off next month.

“Originally we were exploring the idea of hosting an Under-13s division at the venue in Castlehaven Road, but we have managed to extend our hours at Coram’s Fields on Saturdays so the older kids will play there.

“That opened up the opportunity of bringing our youngest kids to the heart of Camden to play, which is fantastic news.

“The league received more applications than ever before in the summer, with the Under-7s and Under-8s in particular finding it difficult to find a league that catered for, or had space for those age groups.

“With that in mind we took a shot at holding league games in Kensington & Chelsea where there was space available, but for various reasons that hasn’t worked out.

“Now, we’re heading for Castlehaven, and the best news of all is that we’ll be able to hold six more fixtures every Saturday, which means even more young children playing football.”

League manager Helal Mohammed praised “the community spirit” that exists within the competition, adding that he hoped teams would “be excited” by the news that their games are moving closer to home.

He said: “We had been in Kensington & Chelsea for four weeks and the games were going well. But teams were struggling with all the travelling, so it’s fantastic that we’re now moving to the heart of Camden.

“I predominantly help with the Under-7s and Under-8s and it’s great watching the players develop, seeing them start to control the ball, string passes together and improving both individually and as a team.

“The fact that at Castlehaven we will be able to play even more matches every Saturday and have even more young people enjoying football makes the job even more rewarding.”

Describing the Camden Youth League as “more than just a youth football competition”, Helal, who grew up in Holborn, added: “There’s a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes. It’s not just a case of providing clubs with their fixtures and leaving them to get on with it.

“There’s also a lot of help and support available, from helping clubs apply for funding or courses for their coaches, to getting any equipment that they might need like match balls and training goals.

“There’s a real community spirit within the league and it’s great to be a part of that.”

• To find out about the new age groups and opportunities available within the Camden Youth League, call league director Zahid Hossain on 07856 461 040 or email camdenyouthleague@gmail.com