IN response to your front page report "Foul play" (May 8), as secretary of York and District Schools Football Association, my experiences of school football have clearly demonstrated excellent team spirit among players, and strong commitment from school staff, parents and supporters for fair play and sportsmanship.

The association can point to numerous positives from this season.

These include the amount of fixtures played - more than 460 competitive league matches, 60 cup games and countless friendlies; pupils represented at county level; district teams in each age group from under 11 through to under 15 all achieving success; particular commendation for the under 11s who concluded an exemplary season as joint Yorkshire champions.

Day in, day out, month in, month out, games take place in a positive spirit of good sportsmanship and fair play.

I am confident the same pattern is repeated across a wide range of other sporting activities within the district.

School sports is a story of hard work from staff, teamwork and a positive spirit from pupils plus strong support from parents.

Why not put the good news on the front page? There's lots of it to report.

Matt Halifax,

Secretary, York and District Schools Football Association.

Updated: 10:24 Friday, May 16, 2003