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SoccerYouthApr 9 – 12, 2027Researched by us

Thames Valley Easter Festival

Bulmershe Playing Fields — Reading, Berkshire (GB)

GameVoyaGradeA+89/100
Know Before You Pay

Ours, from the published record

Attendee Rating

4.0/5

4 reviews · 100% would return

Theirs, from the teams who went

Organizer page

GameVoyaGrade

Know Before You Pay

A+ · Outstanding on paper89/100

Cheap against the sport median, terms that leave the risk with the organizer, and a verified operator. There is nothing on the record here to be careful about.

Grade components

Value for money41 / 41
Terms and transparency37 / 37
Exposure for players11 / 22
How this is calculated

How much of this is published

Fully published4 of 4

This organizer publishes all four terms facts, so the grade rests entirely on stated figures.

The four gradeable facts are the entry fee, the refund policy, the hotel requirement and the guaranteed game count. Anything the organizer leaves out is priced at the middle of its range rather than counted against them — most operators quote on application, and a grade that punished silence would be reporting our own missing data as their failing.

  • Cash refunds+13
  • No hotel block required+9
  • 6 games guaranteed+7.5
  • Organizer verified by us+7.5
  • Exposure not published+11

Attendee Rating

Positive4.0/5

Reliably good. Reviewers would return, with one or two caveats worth reading.

What attendees rated

Organization4.3
Officiating4.0
Value5.0
Venue2.8

100% of reviewers would bring a team back

Attendee Rating

4.0/5

4 reviews · 100% would return

Coaches, managers, parents, players, officials and scouts who attended. Never the organizer.

Reviewers here averaged 4.1 out of 5. The published figure is 4.0 because a rating from a handful of reviews is pulled toward the directory average until there are enough of them to stand on their own — which is what stops one glowing review putting an event at the top of the table.

Coaches, managers, parents, players, officials and scouts who attended. Never the organizer.

Organizers may answer a review in public, and their responses are labelled and shown. They are excluded from every average, count and return rate here, so an operator cannot move their own rating.

What to expect

Six games and a guaranteed Monday fixture for every team through the cup-and-shield structure, at the lowest cost per game in the directory. On-site camping is unusual and keeps lodging near zero. Facilities are basic and pitches cut up in wet years.

What it costs

Team entry fee£540GBP · $691 USD equivalent
Games guaranteed6Double group stage + cup and shield brackets
Cost per guaranteed game$115 USD54% below the median for youth soccer
Hotel block£89 / nightOptional — teams may book their own accommodation.
Refund policyCash refundsFull refund to 28 days out.
Registration deadlineMar 6, 2027Closes Mar 6, 2027

What a player gets seen doing

Not published

11 / 22 exposure points

The organizer publishes nothing about scouts, streaming, video or stats. That is normal for a house or in-season tournament and is not held against the event.

Not stated by the organizer

  • Scouts and college coaches attend
  • Showcase format
  • Advances to a championship
  • Games streamed
  • Game video for teams
  • Live stats and standings
  • Professional photography

Silence is scored as an unknown, not as a no. Nothing here is deducted for a feature the organizer simply did not mention.

Format and divisions

Age brackets
U10U12U14U16
Competitive tiers
GrassrootsAcademy
Field size
160 teams
Pitches in play
14
Included
  • FA-registered officials
  • cup and shield brackets so every team plays Monday
  • camping on site

4 reviews from teams that went

Attendee Rating 4.0 / 5

  1. Thirty-eight years and it shows

    Callum Mbeki-Struthers · Coach · Oxford City Juniors U16 Academy · attended 2025

    5/5

    FA-registered officials, a schedule that has not slipped in the four years we have attended, and honest communication about conditions. It is not a glamorous event and it is the best-value football weekend in England.

    Organization
    5
    Officiating
    4
    Value
    5
    Venue
    3
    Would return

  2. Wonderful chaos, terrible pitches in the wet

    Verity Ashenden · Parent · Newbury Youth U10 · attended 2025

    4/5

    The 2025 edition followed a fortnight of rain and by Sunday the pitches were mud. The organisers kept it running and nobody got hurt, but two of the far fields were unplayable. In a dry year I would rate the venue much higher.

    Organization
    4
    Officiating
    4
    Value
    5
    Venue
    2
    Would return

  3. Camping on site is the hidden saving

    Nnamdi Oyelaran · Team manager · Slough Rovers U14 Academy · attended 2026

    5/5

    Twenty-two of our families camped at the ground for four nights. Lodging cost was effectively nil and the players loved it. Facilities are basic: portable toilets, one food van, and the showers are cold.

    Organization
    4
    Officiating
    4
    Value
    5
    Venue
    3
    Would return

  4. Six games and everyone plays Monday

    Alastair Penhaligon · Coach · Didcot Town Colts U12 Grassroots · attended 2026

    5/5

    The cup-and-shield structure means the teams knocked out early still get a Monday fixture, so no family drives home at lunchtime feeling short-changed. 540 for six games is roughly 90 a game, less than anything else in this directory.

    Organization
    4
    Officiating
    4
    Value
    5
    Venue
    3
    Would return

Review this tournament

You attended Thames Valley Easter Festival. Tell the next team what to expect.

This is the Attendee Rating — the half of a listing we cannot work out ourselves. It is filed by people who were at the event: coaches, managers, parents, players, officials and scouts. Organizers cannot file one, and the GameVoyaGrade never reads reviews at all.

Overall *

Your verdict on the weekend as a whole.

Organization *

Schedule accuracy, communication, on-site staffing.

Officiating *

Standard and consistency of the crews.

Value *

What you got for the entry fee and travel cost.

Venue *

Facility, playing surface, spectator space.

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