A WELL known grassroots official has claimed that veterans football is contributing to a major problem in Hampshire.

The Daily Echo has recently revealed that one of the oldest clubs in the county, Lyndhurst, could be facing extinction if they can’t find more people to help out behind the scenes.

Further up the pyramid, former Winchester City, BAT and Lymington & New Milton manager Andy Leader claims a similar problem at Andover could force them out of the Southern League.

Now a well know voice on the Waterside, Hythe & Dibden’s Dave Cox, has blamed veterans’ football for aiding the crisis.

“One of the worst things ever brought in was veterans’ football,” he said.

“Years ago players would carry on until they were 38 or 39 and then when they’d finished playing they would stay on with the club as kitman, committee member or whatever – or even become a manager.

“But these days they go on and play vets’ football and you don’t see them any more. They’re not interested in staying involved and helping clubs.

“These people go on playing until they’re 45 or 50 and, when they get to it, they don’t want to get involved with clubs any more.”

The Drew Smith Southampton Saturday League boasts four veterans’ divisions while one of the local Sunday Leagues is contemplating introducing one for the first time next season.

But Cox reckons players past their sell-by date should be channelling their energies into helping clubs at a time when local non-league football is crying out for willing workers behind the scenes.

“Why is a 40 or 50-year-old still playing?” Cox asked.

“I believe football is for young blokes and girls running around, not older people with aches and pains.

“Instead of playing at that age, they should be helping out behind the scenes or coming and sitting in the dugout on a Saturday afternoon and being part of the real game.

“We’ve got a vets’ side here at Hythe who disappear off and play their football and they’re not interested in joining in with other things.

“They’re very self-contained.

“If you tell them there’s a ‘do’ on at the club, they don’t want to come to it.

“Ban veterans’ football, I say!”

Cox added: “I couldn’t agree more with what Andy Leader was saying about the lack of help behind the scenes.

“There are so many clubs around and everyone’s so spread out. You just can’t get people.”

Drew Smith League secretary Rod Sutherland said: “I can see the arguments both ways, but it’s a poor excuse really.

“Anything that keeps people playing for as long as possible has got to be good for football.

“People play veterans football because they want to – not all of them are managerial material or want to be coaches.

“The players want to stick together and carry on having a good social activity to do.

“But I do think the vets game has reached a plateau.

“We’ve just had two teams pull out for the first time, and I don’t think we’ve got any applicants at this stage for next season.”

Sutherland said he had been approached about putting in a Drew Smith League veterans representative XI to play in an end of season tournament also involving teams from Cornwall, Devon and Dorset.

But there is no guarantee that will happen, due to the recent bad weather putting teams behind in their fixtures.