In England, Scotland & Wales the competition is for boys under the age of 15 as at 1 September each year, whilst in Ireland there is a separate competiton for Under-16s.

There are over 900 Lions Clubs throughout the UK and, through their youth programmes, each is dedicated to providing challenges and opportunities for youngsters that they would not otherwise enjoy.

Any U14 or U15 boys team playing in its local league, and, of course, affiliated to its County FA, can represent their local Lions Club in this special competition.

Initial games are drawn on a regional basis to reduce travelling time and costs, moving further afield as the rounds progress.

The Semi-Finals and Final are staged at League stadiums, such as the City Ground, Nottingham Forest, or the Bescot Stadium Walsall, and they also look to have some personalities present at the games for the lads to meet, and to present trophies.

The Competition is sanctioned this year by the English FA and by UEFA.

All this may not even cost your Football Club either, as everything may be covered by your entering Lions Club. Home games can be played at your ground, or, if you prefer you and your Lions Club can arrange another venue locally, and they will provide food and refreshments for both teams after the match.

For away games they will cover the cost of transport for the team and its coaches to the match.

This provides a wonderful opportunity for a team to play against opponents and in towns that they may never have even heard of, let alone been to before, and also provides a clear measure of what level one league really is at relative to another.

Many a team unbeaten for years in its own league goes down 11-1 to a team from another league in a different part of the country who have never been in their own top 6!

Are you and your team up for this challenge? Call 0121 441 4544 for more information, and the chance to enter in season 2006/7.

Alternatively, ask your youth football team manager to contact the HQ at: Lions Clubs International, 257 Alcester Road South, Kings Heath, Birmingham, B14 6DT or by email to mdhq@lions.org.uk.