IT'S billed as the league where kids arrive four feet high and leave 10 feet tall.

Thousands of them have been through the doors of the Bank of Scotland Midnight League since it started a decade ago.

And the league, which has extended to cover the whole country, has gone from strength to strength.

Between 6000 and 7000 youngsters aged between 12 and 16 are this year taking part in the league's five-a-side games, at more than 100 venues across all 32 local authority areas.

In May there are three regional finals, each of them held at Scottish senior grounds, which gives youngsters the chance to play at the venue of their dreams.

This year's West of Scotland finals took place at Clyde's home at Broadwood, near Cumbernauld, with more than 170 kids turning out for their teams.

Nationwide, some of the scheme's 'graduates' have done very well for themselves, such as Lewis Stevenson, who signed for Hibernian in 2005 and now has the accolade of being the club's longest-serving player.

Another bright young talent, Scott Roberts, is now part of the Scotland Cerebral Palsy football squad. Scott was part of the team that played in Barcelona at the recent European Championships in Barcelona. He has also been in Rio representing his country at the World Championships.

The Midnight League has attracted the interest, too, of some big names in Scottish football - former Celtic and Hibs hero John Collins, ex-Scotland winger Neil McCann, one-time Rangers stalwart David Weir, now manager of English side Sheffield United, and former Scotland national team coach, Craig Levein

John Collins was on hand in October 2011 as 25 young players from across Scotland took part in the first Bank of Scotland Midnight League Player of the Year Day.

And earlier this year, on a return visit, he said: "The Bank of Scotland Midnight Leagues are a great way to get young people playing football and socialising with other youngsters from their area. Anything that provides a safe environment for them to do so can only be of benefit to local communities all over Scotland."

Three years ago Craig Levein made clear his own approval of the leagues: "Midnight League is a great programme, which encourages more young people to play the game and, perhaps more importantly, steers them away from poor choices off the pitch and gives them something positive to focus on."

The success of the project has been marked in other ways, too. A study carried out by Stirling University researchers found that anti-social behaviour has dropped by almost a third in some council areas when the Midnight Leagues were in session.

More than a fifth of young people interviewed admitted that they 'might be getting into trouble' if they weren't devoting their energies to their local league.

Barriers had been broken down between the young people and the local police force - and many of the teenagers reported feeling fitter and healthier into the bargain, with greater self-esteem.

The programme was kick-started by a couple of local authorities and the involvement of the Bank of Scotland in 2003 enabled it to be spread across all of Scotland. It is run in partnership with the SFA and the government's Cashback for Communities scheme.

The Midnight Leagues are run by Donald Gillies, the SFA's football development manager. He first got involved as a coach with one of the first Midnight Leagues, in East Renfrewshire, and has worked his way up the ladder.

"The leagues have been run since 2003 and really the recipe for them hasn't changed much over the last few years," he said.

"It's free football for boys and girls aged between 12 and 16 in the evenings and at weekends, mainly in the winter months between January and March, where there aren't so many opportunities for young people to get involved in football.

"The programme's success has been fairly consistent as well," Donald added.

"It's a no-frills opportunity for young people to come along and get involved in some healthy activity. Some of the kids think of it as a reasonable activity - but many others take it very seriously and turn up with all their friends.

"We've been delighted with the bank's continuing sponsorship of the leagues, which has been a real reason why we've been able to continue it, but also with the way it has come to be seen by young people throughout the country.

"They've come to see the Midnight Leagues as something they really want to see happening. But probably the most telling sign of success is the local authorities who have managed to find extra sources of funding to keep the programme running throughout the year.

"Organisations like The Pulse, in West Dunbartonshire, have found extra money to keep the Midnight Leagues running at Clydebank High School for almost 52 weeks of the year.

"That has been a catalyst for other councils to come on board and take the scheme to a whole new level. In Inverclyde it runs for 45 weeks of the year. Lots of councils have taken it to their hearts and it has been a great success.

"I've no doubt the league will have even more success in the decade ahead."

Robin Bulloch, Managing Director, Bank of Scotland Community Bank, said: "Bank of Scotland is extremely proud of its 10-year association with the Midnight Leagues, which deliver an excellent diversionary programme for young people across Scotland.

"The initiative has gone from strength to strength and is now established in all 32 Scottish local authorities with over 7000 young people participating at 90 venues.

"The Bank of Scotland Midnight Leagues allow us to demonstrate our commitment to local communities, bringing positive social change."

*For further details of the Midnight Leagues, visit www.scottishfa.co.uk