St Francis Youth Football team began in 1994 for children in the Valley Park area who were not getting sufficient sports involvement at school.

St. Francis Primary School allowed the club the use of their pitch on Saturday mornings.

St Francis Youth Football Club provides football for children aged 6 to 15 in Valley Park, Chandlers Ford in Hampshire. They train at various locations including the Knightwood Leisure Centre at Skys Wood Road.

The club was established in 1994 and originally trained on St Francis School playing field. It now has almost 350 children training regularly with many of them playing in the local youth football leagues (Eastleigh & District Mini Soccer League, the Southampton and District Tyro Football League and the Winchester and District Girls League).

The club aims to help local children develop their sport skills and team work while enjoying sport for its own sake. They provide a community approach with many of the players living in Valley Park and adjoining areas.

The club is now sponsored by Metabo from 2004. The club has obtained matching funding from SPORTSMATCH, a sport development programme funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport through a body called Sport England. This funding enables the club to develop the players' football skills through professional coaching.

In 2002, the club received the FA Charter Standard Development Club Award. This award recognises amateur football clubs which are run along formal lines and which meet the standards set out by the Football Association. This charter provides a framework for best practice for managing amateur and community football clubs. These standards include child protection, code of conduct, financial management and developing skills, among others.

St Francis Youth Football Club is the first club in Hampshire (including adult clubs) to receive the Development status charter award. This is a major achievement given that the parent managers are all volunteers and manage the club in their own time.