What is Future Fit 3v3 football?

England Football's format for the youngest players: three a side, short games and as much football as possible.

The format in one paragraph

Future Fit 3v3 is the way England Football asks clubs to introduce U7 players to the game. Teams are three players a side, there are no goalkeepers and no substitutes, and instead of one long match children play several short games. An adult Team Facilitator looks after each pitch in place of a referee. You will sometimes see it written as 3x3 football, but the official England Football term is 3v3.

Why smaller games

With only six children on the pitch, each one is far closer to the ball. That means more touches, more decisions, more attacking and defending, more chances to score and more time actually playing. Smaller formats are already used widely across Europe for young players, and 3v3 appears in England's own talent pathways.

What it is not

U7 football is non-competitive. There are no league tables, no published results and no rankings. The point is participation and development, not outcomes. Nobody is trying to identify winners at six years old.

What a session looks like

A typical Future Fit morning uses several small pitches at once, with games of roughly six to ten minutes and teams moving between pitches carousel-style so children play with and against different players. The aim is around 30 to 40 minutes of actual playing time per child.