Both the sons of our hosts are footballers, one a very useful goalkeeper, the other a casual and thoughtful midfielder who would boost a team on the island. The parents are very good supporters; they behave themselves on touchlines.
I was hoping to see some football on the island but of course it is out of season (actually it is from November to late March) and there is no pitch on Tresco. Only St Mary's, another Scilly Isle, has a pitch, at the Garrison. This is the home to one of the two teams that remains in the Isles of Scilly league, reputedly the smallest league in the world (check Guinness Book of Records).
From the
1920s there were several teams based at each major island:- Bryher,
St Agnes, St Martins and the two already mentioned playing for the
Lyonesse Inter-Island Cup. The war, out-migration of youngsters and
the fact that there is no sixth form school on the archipelago, means
that a lot of the youngsters hit the main land and never returned!
Apart from summer holidays of course. If they do come back, this
tends to be later in life, hence the older average age of footballers
in the league which is well into the mid 30s.
By the 1950s
there were only two teams and these presently are known as the
Garrison Gunners and the Woolpack Wanderers. (sound like pub teams to
me?) They play each other 17 times, every other weekend and there is
a Young v Old match on Boxing Day-fair enough.
Affiliated to
the FA , there is a Charity Shield at the start of the season, the
league and several cups such as the Foredeck Cup played over two legs
(good job it is the Isle of Man.....get it?).
There is an annual
match of a combined XI versus Newlyn Non Athletico whose pre-season
tour from the FL Pyramid Level 14 is always to the Scillys. (also
sounds quite pubby to me)
In April 2008, Adidas ran a TV
advert called Dream Big featuring Beckham, Vieira and Gerrard,
highlighting the league. A survey returned that the 2,000 or so
islanders are the mostly active in sports' activities, some football
but others such as gig racing, golf and water sports. The islands are
now attractive to migrants from the EU! and the Antipodes. Hugh Town,
on St Marys, is the largest settlement with about 1,000 people
choosing to live the urban life! I am going to New Grimsby!
Watch out for the Orkney League and other island associations around us.
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