Leisure Leagues were able to make one little boy’s dreams come true this week  – with the help of the world’s best referee.

Little Jacob from Birmingham, who has autism, had always dreamed of being a referee but was using cards made with paper and Sellotape. Upon hearing his plight Leisure Leagues stepped in to give the youngster all he needed to get to the top.

Director Tom Nash explained: “It was lovely to hear of Jacob’s desire to take up the whistle, and we were only too glad to help him, and sent him a refs kit, some cards, a whistle and a football”

However, because we are the largest provider of community 6 a side football in the world, and have some of the world’s biggest football stars as ambassadors, we were able to go one step further, so we sent him a signed Mark Clattenburg photo too.

Clattenburg, who has just taken up a top job in Greece, is Leisure Leagues Head Referee and Jacob, aged five, was even more thrilled to receive the gift from one of his heroes. It has now taken pride of place on his bedroom wall, and he has put the cards to even better use, as Tom explained: “We have been told he has already given his uncle Stu a red card and banished him to the garden!”

Now that he’s practiced the strong discipline we demand, Jacob is going to test his skills at our Colmers Farm league, where he will be watching how our match officials do it.

Tom added that this was about more than helping one youngster achieve his dreams, rather it is about Leisure Leagues’ place at the heart of communities. “It is wonderful that our leagues perform such a vital role in places up and down the country, and that we can do so much good for people throughout the land,” he said.

Leisure Leagues is the only designated Not For Profit 6 a side football provider and donates to many charities and good causes throughout the year.