IT’S county cup finals day with a difference at Oaklands Park this weekend for several of the area’s talented young girls’ teams.

In an intriguing move away from the traditional season-long knock-out format, the Gloucestershire FA are presenting the under-13s and under-15s girls’ competitions as all-in-one round-robin tournaments on the county association’s increasingly-popular 3G pitch in Almondsbury this Sunday.

The occasion promises to be a real feast of female football fun for participants and spectators, with AEK Boco, Bristol Ladies Union (Red and Yellow), Bradley Stoke and Bristol Ravens competing for honours in the under-13s category, and Frampton Rangers, Forest Green Rovers and Bristol Ladies Union among those vying for the under-15s prize.

The tournament is set to get underway around 10am and conclude at 3.30pm, and GFA women and girls football development officer, Alexis Lunn-Gadd, confirmed: “This is the first time we’ve made a one-day event out of this tournament and we’re really looking forward to it.

“It should be competitive, as all county cup tournaments are, but it will be a celebration of local girls’ football at the same time.

“All games will be nine-a-side, with two matches taking place side-by-side for the most part, while the top two teams in each group will play each other in the respective finals.”

With so much coming up at local and international level on the female front, Lunn-Gadd insists there is much to enthuse about for players of all ages.

“Our top local team, Bristol Academy, have a mouthwatering Women’s Champions League quarter-final tie coming up against FFC Frankfurt at Ashton Gate on Saturday, March 21 (2pm), while the FIFA Women’s World Cup takes place this summer when all games will be televised by the BBC,” she said.

“We at the Gloucestershire FA are hosting an FA girls’ football festival at Hartpury College next month (Wednesday, April 22) for primary and secondary school players, and in May we will also be running a seven-a-side Women’s Summer League on our 3G pitch, specifically targeting those players looking to make the move from under-16s football into the adult under-18s game.

“The Gloucestershire FA skills team are also hard at work with our five-to-11 age group and they will continue to run their girls-only skills centres both in Gloucester and at the GFA at Oaklands Park after Easter (visit www.faskills.thefa.com).”