GIVE you and your mates have something different to look forward to in the New Year by signing up for the First Round of the FA People’s Cup, which takes place nationwide from 22nd-24th January in Essex for male and female adults and youths.

Following a huge success in 2015, The FA’s mass participation football tournament is being run in partnership with BBC Get Inspired, whilst also supporting Sport Relief. It’s a five-a-side competition, and it’s open only to amateurs. The professionals definitely won’t win it… but you might! It’s free to enter and welcomes male, female and disability players across ten categories, ranging from Under 14s through to veterans (over-35s).

The country’s leading small-sided football providers are serving as delivery partners for an enormous 2,000 hours of football played across more than one hundred venues. 30,000+ people competed in the inaugural competition, now details of the local qualifiers have been released by the Essex County FA. People of all abilities are invited to take part – from Sunday league regulars to players who haven’t laced-up their boots in years!

The format for the FA People’s Cup will mirror rounds of the Emirates FA Cup and, as with the oldest cup competition in the world, the BBC will be following every step of the way, with cameras trained across venues around the country to capture the action as it unfolds. Teams who progress beyond Round One will qualify for regional semi-finals on February 27th and 28th, with the Grand Finals to follow in mid-March.

The process is easy. Start by finding your nearest participating centre at www.bbc.co.uk/sport/get-inspired. For more information, contact Tony Snow on (0800) 169 1863 (extension 4879) or E-Mail [email protected]. Details on local grassroots football can also be found at www.essexfa.com, on Twitter @EssexCountyFA and by searching for ‘EssexFootball’ on Facebook.