YOU'VE heard of the film, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Now meet its Scottish equivalent - the Midnight League of Extraordinary Young People!

In its 10 years, the Bank of Scotland Midnight League has enabled thousands of boys and girls aged 12 to 16 to play five-a-side football.

The sessions are run by SFA coaches at evenings and weekends - mostly during the winter but, as in some areas, for much of the year.

It doesn't cost the kids a penny, it gets them involved in healthy activity and keeps them off the streets.

What's more, it has been a springboard for many of them to take the next step up in the game.

In East Dunbartonshire, Scott Murray, the assistant Football Development Officer, says many of the local ML youngsters are now competing at pro-youth level with such teams as Partick Thistle, St Johnstone and Stenhousemuir.

Others are playing at junior level with Kilsyth Rangers or Kirkintilloch Rob Roy - two of the best-known of all Scotland's junior clubs - or at amateur or at under-21 level with such teams as Campsie Black Watch.

In Inverclyde, two youngsters, Thomas Livingstone and Scott Cuffe, both made coaches sit up and take notice during their Midnight League games.

Both were part of the Scottish FA/Scottish Disability Sport Under-19 Learning Disability National Squad that won the Learning Disability Home ­Nations Championships for the first time, in April this year.

It's a similar story in the Whitehill Secondary Centre Midnight League, too, where many youngsters have 'graduated' to local Quality Mark Clubs.

Many remarkable youngsters were nominated late last year for the Midnight League Player of the Year title.

They were treated to a tour of Hampden, the national stadium, and David Weir, the former Falkirk, Rangers, Everton and Scotland star - now manager at Sheffield United - put them through their paces at a training session in Lesser Hampden.

The 16 youngsters included Josh Cochrane, 13, a ­pupil at East Kilbride's Duncanrig Secondary School and a former Rangers academy prospect.

Ross McClement, of Twechar, who was also there that day, is 13 and has already been singled out as a future coach by his mentors in the Midnight League.

A glowing assessment by Kevin Murphy, the Football Development Officer in East Dunbartonshire, praised Ross for being a 'fantastic ambassador' for local young people.

Kevin said: "Although Ross is very young, he shows a mature head within his daily life. Ross has not only progressed with his football skills ... but shows real maturity by sorting out player disagreements and always highlighting that swearing and foul language are not permitted on the Midnight Leagues Programme."

He also praised Ross' time-keeping, 'superb' etiquette, huge enthusiasm for football and his motivation of his team-mates - even when they are losing.

Ross had introduced other youngsters to the Midnight Leagues, helped the coaches with their duties, and "looks to have a possible future career in coaching."

In North Lanarkshire, Michael Tiughe once fractured his ankle during a match - but did not know how bad the injury was, and continued playing.

As he recovered from the injury, he kept returning to the Midnight League to support his team and lend the coaches a hand.

Robert Larkin, 17, from Renfrewshire, is another who has caught the eye of local SFA coaches, who praise him for "giving his all" and regularly helps out in local primary schools with younger children.

After the session at Hampden, former Scotland defender Weir spoke glowingly of schemes such as the Midnight League.

"Grassroots football is always important," he said. "It's the starting-point for everyone and it puts the enjoyment back in football for everyone."

HE continued: "When you're involved at the other end, the serious end, and it's all about results, it's all very businesslike, and it's nice to see the grassroots side and the smiles on the kids' faces, and you remember where it all started.

"Not everybody is going to go on to become an international footballer but you can create a lot of things that do good work … it's a great scheme and a positive thing."

Donald Gillies, the SFA's football development officer, who now oversees the entire country-wide network of Midnight Leagues, said: "From football's point of view it's crucial that we continue to engage with a wide variety of kids, whether they're five-year-olds ­experiencing the game for the first time or older kids who just want to play.

"No matter their age, we'd much rather see them out on a pitch, kicking a ball and getting involved rather than staying indoors with things like computer games."

He praised those local authorities that had sourced extra funding in order to keep the Midnight Leagues running throughout the year.

Last word goes to Guiseppe Capuano, who plays for Queen's Park, and until recently doubled as a key Midnight League coach.

It was partly thanks to his ML role that he is now a fully-fledged PE teacher at a East Renfrewshire secondary school.

"Coaching on the Midnight Leagues gave me much-needed experience, which has helped open the door for me to become a teacher," he said.

l For further details of the Midnight Leagues in your area visit www.scottishfa.co.uk/midnightleague