Episode 83: Chris Welburn and Chris Brammall - The FA's Future Fit and the 3v3 format

Introduction

In Episode 83, host Nathan Walker records on location at St. George’s Park, the home of English football. He sits down with Chris Welburn and Chris Brammall from the Football Association (FA) to discuss the “Future Fit” agenda. This initiative marks a significant change in the format of grassroots football, most notably the introduction of a 3v3 format for the youngest players. The episode unpacks the rationale behind these changes, focusing heavily on children’s rights and holistic development, and explores how Physical Education teachers can translate these grassroots principles into highly effective, inclusive curriculum PE.

Educational Context and the Future Fit Vision

Both guests bring extensive experience bridging the gap between physical education and sports coaching. Chris Welburn and Chris Brammall both joined the FA’s newly formed physical education unit in 2013, transitioning from decade-long careers working in higher education and secondary school PE, respectively.

The Future Fit agenda represents the first major structural change to English grassroots football since 2010. Chris Welburn explains that the core drive behind this movement is to champion children’s rights and ensure the game is bespoke to their developmental needs. The introduction of the 3v3 format is designed to maximise engagement, increase touches on the ball, and put the child entirely at the heart of the coaching environment.

A brief interlude in the episode perfectly captures this success. Nathan speaks to a group of young girls who have just finished playing in the 3v3 showcase at St. George’s Park. They describe the experience as a “dream come true”, noting that the format allows them to get on the ball constantly and score an abundance of goals, fostering a genuine love for the game.

Chris Welburn: Environment, Chaos, and Practice Design

Chris Welburn highlights that a player is a person first. He stresses that unlocking the psychological and social corners of a child’s development is the key to enabling physical and technical progression.

Building the Foundation Welburn shares a powerful mantra for teachers: to teach football to Sally, a teacher must know Sally first. By connecting with pupils on a human level, understanding their self-esteem, and co-constructing the curriculum to give them voice and choice, teachers create a safe environment where learning can thrive.

He introduces the concept of building a “library of movement actions”. Before children can master complex sports skills, they must focus on fundamental movements. He defines agility with a simple formula: balance plus coordination plus speed equals agility. Teachers must recognise that coordinating these movements takes significant time and cannot be achieved in a single week.

Embracing Chaos and Parallel Practices A major challenge for teachers, particularly trainees, is letting go of rigid structure and embracing the “chaos” of small-sided invasion games. Welburn admits he used to rely heavily on strict organisation for behaviour management, but he now advocates for messy, dynamic practice designs that reflect the true nature of the sport.

To cater to a class of thirty pupils with vastly different abilities, he suggests using parallel pitches based on “starting challenge points”. For example, a teacher could run three simultaneous games:

A 2v1 pitch for students who need a numerical advantage to feel confident.
A 2v2 pitch for an evenly matched, standard challenge.
A 1v2 pitch for highly competent players who want the physical and technical challenge of being outnumbered.

This differentiation ensures every child has access to the lesson at an appropriate level.

The Art of Noticing: Lifeguard vs. Robocop Welburn offers a brilliant analogy for teacher observation skills during these parallel practices. Teachers must alternate between being a “lifeguard” (scanning the entire space, looking at the big picture, and detecting broad anomalies) and “Robocop” (locking onto a specific player to gather granular detail and build a mental map of their individual progress).

Chris Brammall: Rethinking Football in the Curriculum

In the second half of the episode, Chris Brammall discusses the realities of teaching football within curriculum PE, acknowledging that the sport can often be polarising for students (who love or hate it).

Learning Intentions Over Activity Brammall urges teachers to plan what they want pupils to learn first, rather than starting with the activity itself. He challenges the traditional notion that a PE lesson must look like “Match of the Day”. If a teacher’s goal is to develop communication, collaboration, and spatial awareness, they should not let the rigid rules of football get in the way of that learning.

For example, in a class of thirty, a third of the students might play weekend football, a third might play recreationally, and a third might actively dread the sport. To keep those unengaged students involved, Brammall advocates for adapting the game entirely. If a student is terrified of having the ball at their feet, a brave and effective teacher might allow them to play with the ball in their hands. They are still learning the exact same tactical and social concepts (like passing, moving into space, and decision making), but the barrier of technical footwork has been temporarily removed to ensure inclusion.

GCSE PE and Games-Based Approaches Addressing examination PE, Brammall notes that students who select football for their GCSE practical assessment often already possess the required isolated skills from their grassroots club experience. Therefore, spending curriculum time running static passing drills is a wasted opportunity. He suggests that teachers shift their focus towards games-based approaches to prepare these students for the 11v11 full-context aspect of the assessment, which is where they most frequently lose marks.

“No Position is Sub” A recurring theme throughout the FA’s new agenda is maximising participation. Brammall firmly believes that a pupil’s position should never be “sub”. Just as a teacher would never ask a student to sit on the sidelines without a pen during a literacy lesson, a child should never be stood waiting in a PE lesson.

He highlights that the formats outlined in the Future Fit documentation (such as 5v5 or 7v7) are maximums. There is absolutely a place for using 3v3 games with Year 10 students if it increases their physical activity time. Furthermore, he encourages teachers to simply use more equipment. If a department has twenty footballs, all twenty should be used in the lesson to eliminate lines and queues.

Top Tips for PE Teachers

To conclude the episode, Chris Brammall shares his top three takeaways for physical educators:

Less is More: Teachers should avoid rushing through schemes of work in short, disjointed blocks. Pupils need more time to truly grasp concepts. Running the same activities for longer, sequenced over multiple weeks, allows for deeper learning and better retention.
High Quality PE equals High Quality Football: A good football lesson does not have to focus entirely on the ball. In a 90-minute professional match, a player might only have the ball at their feet for two minutes. The other 88 minutes require communication, collaboration, decision making, and off-the-ball movement. Developing these holistic skills is just as important as technical practice.
Be Adaptable: Teachers must have the courage to adapt the sport to the pupils in front of them. Whether that means playing smaller formats, changing the rules, or allowing the ball to be picked up, the priority must always be a positive, meaningful experience that keeps young people active and engaged.

Conclusion

The conversation with Chris Welburn and Chris Brammall highlights a significant, progressive shift within the FA based on research conducted by Liverpool John Moore’s University. By prioritising the child’s experience through smaller formats, increased touches, and a focus on social and psychological development, the Future Fit agenda aligns perfectly with the goals of high-quality physical education. The episode serves as a powerful reminder that PE teachers have the freedom to adapt, dissect, and rebuild traditional sports to ensure that every single pupil feels valued, included, and successful in their movement journey.