After an outstanding performance winning the FA National Youth Futsal Festival North West regional finals Carlisle Futsal Clubs u10s academy team now progress to the National Finals on 27th June to be held at the Birmingham International Futsal Arena.
Futsal Clubs, Football Clubs and Schools from across the North West were present at the Wavertree Leisure Centre in Liverpool for the North West qualifiers. Carlisle Futsal Clubs academy teams across all age groups performed well with the u16s just failing to reach the Nationals missing out in the final and the u14s losing out on goal difference.
But it was an outstanding team performance from the u10s that saw them battle their way through a nail biting final against an incredibly talented Manchester Futsal Club u10s.
A squad of 12 was selected for the trip to Liverpool with over half the squad actually only age u9 and playing up a year, making their performance even more remarkable.
U10s head coach Al Tindall was delighted with the progress shown ‘I was really pleased for all of the boys, we are following a programme in our training sessions which ties back into our own Club age specific curriculum. I think that this is proof that it is working. What we had in Liverpool was a group of young players who have trained 
as a group for a while learning a new sport. And they accept that its not the same as football that’s been the key. They’ve worked on their Futsal technique and in each session you can seem them using it more and more but weve also mixed into our sessions a little bit of tactical play over the last few months. You could see all of the u10s in the group implementing their tactical knowledge. In the final we knew we couldn’t match Manchester in possession, they were superb so we reverted to a game we play in training which simulates a full press. Because we had covered it the boys knew that if they executed it with energy and desire it would work, and it did. I think winning the regional finals will be something those boys remember for the rest of their lives and hopefully they can take the experience and use it to continue on their journey of development.’
The National finals will see all of the regional qualifiers from across the country come together to be crowned National champion in Birmingham.
The Birmingham @ Futsal Arena is a brand new state of the art purpose built Futsal facility. The arena features a high technology cushioned sport flooring ideal for children and adult players of all abilities ranging from novices to the elite. The Birmingham @ Futsal Arena is the third arena to open in the UK following in the footsteps of Swindon and Cardiff. The arena consists of seven official futsal pitches together with high quality ancillary facilities which include a café, retail zone and ample car parking. Over 800 competitors and 1000 spectators are expected over the weekend
Over the two days of the festival there will also be an opportunity for players and spectators to take part in a number of entertainment activities that will be delivered in the FA National Youth Festival Player Village.
There will also be in-house event catering and a range of refreshments will be available for purchase from these food outlets. This will allow players and spectators to relax during the breaks in the tournament fixture schedule.
The standard festival schedule will be as follows:
Activity Saturday 27 June U10 & U12
Registration 08.30 – 09.30
Managers Briefing 10.00
First Group Fixtures Commence 10.30
Final Group Fixtures Commence14.00
Knockout Stage Commences 14.45
Final Games Commence 16.00
Presentations 16.45
Each age group will consist of 8 teams playing in two groups of 4 teams. The top two teams in each group go through to the semi finals. All matches as part of this festival will last 10 minutes each way and be played with a running clock whereby the clock will not be stopped whenever the ball goes out of play which is different to a official Futsal rules.
SQUAD FOR THE FINALS: Robbie Wilson (GK), Alex Cairns, Wiktor Migawa, Kai Osborne, Kian Ullyart, Charlie Cullen, Sam Sproatt, Adam Farren, Hayden Rae, Lewis Brown, Jamie Longrigg.
Carlisle Futsal Club are delighted to be representing not only Carlisle and Cumbria but also the entire North West region including Manchester, Lancashire, Liverpool and Chester.
