Leisure Leagues is an franchise of

five 5 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 5, five or number 5 may also refer to: * AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era * 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era Literature * ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram * ''5'' (comics), an awa ...

and six-a-side football leagues primarily in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

. As of April 2017, the Leisure Leagues network had more than 3,000 leagues in the UK alone, which made it the largest independent network of leagues in the world.

History

In the 1980s, a group of sports facility managers started a network of small-sided football leagues. In 1990, they adopted the name Leisure Leagues and were mainly found in rural or provincial towns in the UK where the opportunity for low-cost competitive sport was limited. The Leisure League Allstars, which allowed teams to play others across the countries, was formed in 1998. Leagues appeared in the Republic of Ireland in 2007, in the United States in 2012, in Pakistan in 2017, and Mexico in 2019. The Pakistan leagues were launched with a series of exhibition games played by footballers such as

Ronaldinho Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho () or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian retired professional footballer who played mostly as an attacking midfielder, but was also deployed as a winger. Wide ...

and

Ryan Giggs Ryan Joseph Giggs (né Wilson; 29 November 1973) is a Welsh association football, football coach and former player. Regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, Giggs played his List of one-club men in association football, entir ...

. In March 2020, Leisure Leagues organized a tournament to celebrate

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wom ...

. Aga Khan W.F.C. won the title among eight teams. For

Breast Cancer Awareness Month Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM), also referred to in the United States as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM), is an annual international health campaign organized by major breast cancer charities every October to increase awaren ...

in October, Leisure Leagues held the Women Football's Pink Cup 2020, which was won by

Diya W.F.C. Diya Women Football Club ( ur, ), also referred to as Diya W.F.C., Diya WFC, Diya FC, Diya, Diya Women FC, or DWFC, is a Pakistani women's association football and futsal club based in Karachi. ''Diya'' means Diya (lamp), lamp in Urdu. It is th ...

Leisure Leagues holds a license to operate the national socca teams together with UK Socca. Leisure leagues played a central role in the first ever Socca World Cup in Lisbon. The 32-team event was largely organised by Leisure Leagues. Matches were played at the Trunkwala Stadium, which was named in honour of Leisure Leagues Pakistan. Leisure Leagues Brand Ambassador

Mark Clattenburg Mark Clattenburg (born 13 March 1975) is an English professional football referee. Clattenburg is a former member of the Premier League and the Durham County Football Association and also a former FIFA referee. He has refereed a number of nota ...

refereed the final, which was won by Germany. Leisure Leagues Action

Celebrity supporters include

Alan Wiley Alan G. Wiley (born 27 May 1960) is a former English football referee in the FA Premier League, who is based in Burntwood, Staffordshire. Career Wiley first took up the whistle in 1981, then officiated in the West Midlands (Regional) League ...

Alex McLeish Alexander McLeish (born 21 January 1959) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player. He played as a defender for Aberdeen during their 1980s glory years, making nearly 500 League appearances for the club, and won 77 caps for ...

, Stephen Kelly,

Jeff Kenna Jeffrey Jude Kenna (born 27 August 1970) is an Irish football manager and former professional footballer. He played as a defender from 1989 until 2009, notably in the Premier League for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers and Birmingham City. He was ...

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chance ...

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...

Usain Bolt Usain St. Leo Bolt, , (; born 21 August 1986) is a retired Jamaican sprinter, widely considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time. He is the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, and 4 × 100 metres relay. An eight- ...

and

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...

Charities

Leisure Leagues donates its profits to a range of charities, including Cancer Research UK, the Dogs Trust and Blind Children UK. They are also committed to keep their travel

carbon neutral Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal (often through carbon offsetting) or by eliminating emissions from society (the transition to the "p ...

List of leagues

The following is a selection of Leisure Leagues competitions as of February 2020.

Six-a-side leagues

Five-a-side leagues

* Brighton * Halifax * Stockport{{cite web, url=https://www.leisureleagues.net/league/propeaks-academy/stockport-sunday, title=PROPEAKS ACADEMY STOCKPORT SUNDAY 5 A SIDE LEAGUE SELECT YOUR LEAGUE, date=n.d., publisher=Leisure Leagues, access-date=2022-08-09

References

Association football leagues in the Republic of Ireland Football leagues in Scotland Football leagues in Wales Football leagues in Pakistan Indoor soccer competitions