Playing intramural football has been one of my best experiences at University by far.
It started out with a few people I barely knew from halls – I wanted to make new friends and decided to take a chance on a new 6-a-side football, to happen every Friday at Clifton campus. It quickly become one of the highlights of my week.
In October 2016, during my first year at NTU, I set up a football team and I haven’t looked back ever since. Creating a team was simple: all I had to do was complete a short form from the Lee Westwood Sport Centre and then submit it to Dan Corlett, Head of Intramural Sport at NTU.
All you need is six friends who want to play, a team name and you are good to go! The team I set up, NG11 FC, helped me get to know the boys who lived in my block and their friends as well.
The number of people interested in playing grew and grew, and we found ourselves becoming real friends not just team mates. It wasn’t just about the team anymore, we would go on nights out together, go for food and hang out. Playing Intramural Sport allowed to me to meet people I never would have in general university life.
My team NG11 FC started off in the bottom league, Clifton 6-a-side ‘Serie B’, and got promoted to ‘Serie A’ going from first to second year. We play every Friday between 4pm and 5:30pm on the hockey pitches at Clifton campus. Matches always have an FA qualified referee.
In our first season we had a rocky term one, only winning two games. After the Christmas break we came back strong and started an unbeaten streak that lasted 21 games and a full calendar year: one of my proudest achievements in sport.
Nothing comes close to a hard-fought win on a cold Friday night under the lights to start the weekend off with a bang.
With NG11 FC I have taken part in so many great intramural football events, including the People’s FA Cup, UV football and a 5-a-side World Cup which we won in 2017. All of these events are either completely free or are really inexpensive with the weekly 6-a-side matches; costing just £12 for the whole team.
I would recommend intramural football to anyone looking to get involved in 5, 6 or 11-a-side football within a more casual and fun environment.
The best thing about intramural sport is that anyone can do it, and if you don’t have a team in mind beforehand, you can get in touch with Dan Corlett and he will help you to find one looking for players and put you in touch.
As my team NG11 get ready to dust off our boots and get ready for what I hope is the year we win some silverware, I look forward to seeing some of you out on the pitch this year.
Contributor – NTU 2nd year student Conor Naughton
NTU Sport Blog 