There were miles of smiles as the sun shone on the initial group stages of the first ever under-8 tournament run by the Cheltenham Youth Football League.

The idea of the tournament is to introduce under-8 players to five-a-side football and Martin Bliss, the driving force behind the new concept, told The Local Answer in the summer: “It will be run within FA guidelines and it will give the younger players some competitive football.”

Twenty-six teams took part and came from as far as Rodborough, Cinderford and Bourton-on-the-Water, as well as many from Cheltenham

A second and final round of matches will be played on Saturday – also at The Newlands in Bishop’s Cleeve – where all the winners of the five groups will receive gold medals and every other player taking part will receive silver medals.

“The atmosphere on the sidelines was great and I would like to thank everyone involved,” said Cheltenham Youth League Fixtures Secretary and League Secretary Denise Pates.

“The place was absolutely buzzing – 250 children took part and their enthusiasm combined with the pride and encouragement of all the parents built up an exciting and positive environment for the players to express themselves and be part of a team.

“The eight young referees – all 14 to 18 years old – also excelled in this friendly atmosphere and you could see their confidence grow as the matches went on.

“These young referees are integral to the smooth running of the tournament and football matches for years to come.

“The Cheltenham Youth League would also like to thank Steve Ratcliffe of Cheltenham Rugby Club and his team at The Newlands who allowed us to use their venue and kept up a constant supply of teas, coffees and bacon butties for all our supportive parents and invaluable volunteers.

“Hopefully the weather will play ball again this weekend.”

The league plan to run two more under-8 tournaments later in the season. The first will take place in either November or December and the other one is scheduled for March. It is hoped that both will again take place at The Newlands.