Teams are categorised by the relevant age group, with the “Under” commonly abbreviated to “U”, e.g. U10 .
This relates to the maximum age at the 31st August immediately before the start of the relevant season. Players can be within a two year age band as indicated by the table below. FA rules do not permit children under the age of 6 years old to play in matches of any kind. Mixed sex football is allowed in all age groups up to and including Under 18s.
| Age Group | School Year | School Year Above Allowed |
| Under 7 | Year 2 | Year 1* |
| Under 8 | Year 3 | Year 2 |
| Under 9 | Year 4 | Year 3 |
| Under 10 | Year 5 | Year 4 |
| Under 11 | Year 6 | Year 5 |
*To play affiliated football, the player must be six years old on or before 31st August (F.A. Rule 4).
Under 7 – Under 11 games are played locally, usually on Sundays, and may include regular events that involve 3 or more Clubs. The focus in this phase is fun and developing mastery of the ball. Games take place on age-appropriate pitches. Matches are small-sided games for each age group. Subject to fitness and availability for selection, all players will participate in at least 50% of match playing time reasonably spread out in any one season.
All of our Foundation Phase teams play in the Craven Minor League.