KENT’S best young footballers are playing too much and risking their health.

That is the worrying warning from the county’s top youth league and the body that runs schools’ football in the county.

The warning concerns players who are at the top level of youth football, but below the level where they are looked after by professional clubs.

Some 16 or 17 year-olds are playing up to five games a week and training as well.

A school match on a Wednesday can be followed by a county match on Thursdays.

School games are also played on Saturday mornings and many players can play up to four games over a single weekend.

The Kent Youth League and the Kent Schools’ Football Association (KSFA) says “overplay” needs to be tackled.

“The KYL and the KSFA (Kent Schools Football Association) are both concerned about the potential problems of overplay involving in particular the most talented youngsters in the Under 18 age group.

“Many of these players are involved with the First/Reserve Team of Saturday Clubs, the Youth Teams of Sunday Clubs in the KYL, and their School Teams, and in some cases also the Kent Youth XI and the KSFA Under 18 county Teams.

Limit

“The non-football demands on these players include A Level, NVQ and BTech courses, as well as part time employment,” the two groups said in a statement.

The youth league and the KSFA have urged players to limit their football to one match in midweek and one at weekends.

The groups urged clubs and schools to “take every opportunity to liaise closely to avoid clashes of fixtures and to jointly manage the playing commitments of their players.”

They urged clubs to avoid arranging games on Wednesday evenings.

However the Kent Youth League arranges some mid-week fixtures and is believed to be planning a floodlit under-20s league for next season.