The FA have released their latest participation and growth figures for October to December 2012, with Kent showing significant growth across a number of areas of the game.

Over 45,000 people play football on an average week in the county, making Kent one of the top five football counties in the UK for participation numbers.

The number of Mini and Youth teams went up to well over 2000 across the county, with 82% of these teams having achieved the highly-regarded FA Charter Standard accreditation.

Ladies’ football showed an increase in participation, growing to over 150 teams for girls and ladies county-wide, and there are now over 50 pan-disability or impairment specific teams for people with disabilities.

Other increases in participation were seen in small-sided games, including 5-a-side and Futsal, and the numbers of male and female referees has also increased to support this demand.

Kent FA Chief Executive Paul Dolan was delighted with the figures, and paid tribute to the people behind the increases.

“We’re happy with the latest participation figures, and it gives us confidence that the development programmes we’ve had in place over the last year are getting results.”

“The real story behind these numbers is the hard work put in by volunteers across the county through the leagues, clubs and committees.”

The only decline seen in the figures is the number of adult male 11-a-side teams, with 20 fewer teams taking to the field in 2012; a drop of around 1% on the previous year. Adult male participation has fallen in recent years across a number of sports, and football has not escaped the trend.

This reduction is however offset by the ongoing growth of small-sided football, which Dolan attributes to a change in lifestyles.

“At one time weekends were for football, but changes in work, family and other commitments have led to a change in lifestyle for many players.”

“The growth of small-sided games has shown that a different market has emerged; weeknight games on floodlit, all-weather facilities are now attracting a bigger share of the football market.”

“We do however, recognise that the adult male 11 v 11 game is vital to us and through the Kent Football Strategy 2012 – 2015 we are actively lobbying with Local Authorities to ensure that pitch prices remain affordable and the quality and quantity of football pitches and facilities are increased.”

To promote the achievements of the leagues, clubs and volunteers across the county the Kent FA will be running a Twitter campaign on Monday 28th January, with Tweets every hour from 7am with headline figures and facts about the growth of the game in Kent.

Follow @KentFA and use hashtag #AheadOfTheGame to join the conversation.