By Patrick Hill

Last updated 17:30, Monday, 19 May 2008

Tribute to the unsung workers who are making the Carlisle Glass Football League one of the best in the country.

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On target: Former Blackburn Rovers striker Matt Jansen starred as a youngster in the Carlisle Glass League. Inset: Colin Seel: ‘The important thing is being able to give kids the chance to kick a ball about and have fun’

COLIN Seel has paid tribute to the unpaid volunteers who help make the Carlisle Glass Youth Football League one of the most successful in the country.

Seel has been involved with the league since retiring as a Football League official in 1987.

He was previously the league chairman but decided to take a back seat by becoming league president following a heart attack in 2001. He is also life president of the Carlisle Area Referees’ Society.

In 1987, the Carlisle Glass set up had three leagues for Under-12s, Under-14s and Under-16-year-old boys.

Today it is one of the biggest youth football set-ups in Britain, with nearly 200 teams, from under-eights to under-18s, including girls’ teams and well over 2,000 children competing every week in the season.

More than £10 million worth of talent learnt their trade playing in the various leagues, including Matt Jansen (Carlisle United, Crystal Palace and Blackburn), Rory Delap (Carlisle United, Derby County, Southampton, Sunderland, Stoke and Ireland) and Paul Reid (Carlisle United, Rangers and Barnsley).

Seel was a Football League official for 21 years and refereed hundreds of top-class games, including an FA Cup semi-final.

He famously sent Manchester United captain Bryan Robson off in an FA Cup clash at Sunderland and he refereed all of the most famous names of his era including Bobby Moore, Nobby Stiles and Martin Peters.

He said: “Someone said recently that the Carlisle Glass League is like a swan. It may look dignified and beautiful on the surface but beneath the surface there are so many volunteers paddling like mad to make sure it all runs smoothly.

“Who knows where we’d be without them, it just wouldn’t be possible. I always say at meetings - and I think they’re probably sick of me saying it -, ‘I don’t know why you do it, but thank goodness you do because we wouldn’t be able to do it without you’.”

“Football is a brilliant sport for kids to get involved in. It gives them the chance to take part in something competitive, it keeps them healthy and fit and it gets them out the house and away from computer games.

“It also give them the chance to something binding, teaches them responsibility, how to work as a team and gives them a chance to build up friendships.

“The best youngsters will always get spotted and picked up by professional teams be it Manchester United or Carlisle United but many more less talented kids will never get that chance.

“I’ve always loved the game but I wasn’t good enough to be a footballer, that’s why I became a referee.

“There are 100s of Colin Seels and the thing that drives me is getting them involved and having fun, not tactics and scheming or the over enthusiastic parents and managers. The most important thing is being able to give kids the chance to kick a ball about and have fun.

“There will always be a competive edge, but winning isn’t the most important thing. Whenever a team gets well beaten, I always go over to them and say, ‘never mind lads, it’s better than being at school!’ or being in a hospital ward which is the situation some other kids their age may be in. That might sound quite morbid but the most important thing is that whether they get beat four, five or six nil, they enjoy it.

“They’ll soon forget what the score was but they’ll never forget playing football in a team, especially if that’s in a Final at Brunton Park. When they’re 29 sitting in the pub and they’ve all got beer bellies, it won’t matter what the score was. They’ll have forgotten it, but they won’t have forgotten the enjoyment they got playing.

 “Playing to win is important, playing for the enjoyment is vital. If there’s any motto for the league I think it’s that.

Seel paid tribute to league secretary Jim Cracken, fixtures secretary Mike O’Brien, referees secretary Stephen Fraser, chairman Jim Hunter and main sponsor Steven Pattison. 

He also thanked Story Construction and Royal Air Force Recruitment for their continued support.

He said: "They're entitled to an honourarium each year but they've never taken a penny.

"You could never pay these people what they deserve. If you worked out the number of hours they do it would cost the league £100,000 a year minimum. I feel honoured just to be the figurehead, the amount of work they do is colossal."