This will be the fourth year that this showpiece festival in the FA
Futsal calendar has been held in Sheffield, and this year will see a
number of professional football club academy teams entering the festival
for the first time.
The FA National Youth Futsal Festival will see 80 youth teams from
across the country playing over the weekend at under 10, under 12, under
14 and under 16 age groups.
These youth teams will travel from all corners of the country after
winning their local county Futsal Festival, and then progressing through
their Regional Festival to represent their region in the National
Finals. The FA National Youth Futsal Festival celebrates both boys and
girls Futsal, with the focus being on enjoyment, skill and fun.
This year will be the first occasion that leading boys and girls’
football academies will be involved in the Festival. Clubs of the
calibre of Manchester United, Sunderland, Nottingham Forest and Leeds
United amongst others will join local club Sheffield United in sending
their under 10 boys and girls academy teams to take part.
These professional clubs are not only keen to provide an enjoyable
football experience for their young players, but are also interested to
explore how Futsal can be integrated into their training to support the
technical development of their young talent.
“The FA National Youth Futsal Festival is a wonderful occasion that
brings together young people from across the country to participate in a
game that they love. The atmosphere of the event is terrific and the
young players really thrive at being involved in an FA national event.
This year’s Festival can only be enhanced with the addition of a
number of professional football club academies and it is pleasing to see
that these clubs are beginning to embrace Futsal. Futsal is a game that
can really play a positive role in assisting the technical development
of the young players in this country.”
(Simon Walker, FA National
Manager for Small Sided Football)
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