Positivity was the aim of the game during a special weekend of sporting events in Suffolk.

More than 400 teams from 36 clubs across the county took part in the Suffolk FA Silent Weekend, sponsored by Total Football, on Saturday and Sunday.

Participants were requested to not remain silent, but only show positive encouragement, while there were no direct instructions from parents or coaches.

The weekend included an Under-7 4v4 Festival at Brantham Leisure Centre and a Suffolk Girls’ & Women’s 4v4 Festival at Felixstowe & Walton United’s Goldstar Ground, both on Saturday morning, with The FA Peoples Cup and the SIL Ability Counts League FA People’s Cup at Goals in Ipswich over both days.

Feedback from the weekend for the initiative was extremely positive, with some spectators tweeting that teams actually performed better as a result.

Jodie Allard, Suffolk FA Football Development Officer, said: “Thank you to all of the players, coaches and spectators who supported our fourth Silent Weekend, in addition to Total Football for their on-going support with the initiative.

“It was great to see the positive match-day environments that our clubs are creating for their players, and we thank everyone who promoted the initiative during their games over the weekend.

“It’s fantastic to see the weekend’s key messages being promoted at our grassroots clubs across the county, ensuring that everyone involved can have the best possible football experience, and we hope that this continues.”

Ian Cornforth, joint owner of Silent Weekend sponsors Total Football, said: “We are delighted to see all the fantastic pictures posted on social media and the fact that so many clubs embraced Silent Weekend, proving that Suffolk has so many clubs and managers looking to provide such positive environments for all their players.

“We would also like to thank Suffolk FA for delivering another fantastic weekend which we are very proud to support.”