back row (left to right) = Chris Harmer, Greg Stiffell, Tom Heaton, Joe Hutchinson

front row (left to right) = Tom Wingate, Alex Flett, Luke Dawson

The Lindsey School and Community Arts College boys Futsal teams will face a tough test this weekend when they travel to Sheffield to compete in the FA National Junior Futsal Finals.

Held at the English Institute of Sport, the finals will pit both the under 16 and under 14 teams against clubs and representative sides from all round the county.

Futsal is a fast paced, exciting version of 5-a-side football which is now The FA’s preferred style of indoor football. It is essentially played to the same rules as traditional 5-a-side, with a few key differences to make the game more dynamic.

The school are no strangers to Futsal, having played it for four years after being introduced by Kevin Bryant, manager of the Grimsby FC Futsal team which play in the FA Futsal Premier League.

In 2004 and 2005 Lindsey were crowned national champions after winning the u16 and u12 titles in Sheffield, but PE teacher Rob Allenby is under no illusion of the enormous task of winning back the titles.

‘Since winning the titles the standard of Futsal has increased greatly, and with the expansion of the tournament it makes our job only harder. As a team though, we look forward to the challenge of being the first school to win three national Futsal titles.’

The under 16 team have already been in action this season, defeating Rob Parrys Lincolnshire FA development team in a play off at Kent Street. The standard of Futsal in that game was impressive, and showed evidence that Grimsby is one of Futsals hot points in this country. Fellow PE teacher Les Jones is under no doubt of the high quality of play in this area.

‘The game against the Lincolnshire team demonstrated the high levels of technique, effort and desire which makes Grimsby a unique place to play Futsal. I hope the TLS teams can do themselves proud in Sheffield.’

The tournament will feature 12 teams in each of the age groups, with the first two teams in each group qualifying for the knock out stages in the afternoon. The finalists will then square off in the late afternoon for a chance to win the prestigious national crown.