The CGL report that the cup, which was held at the Olympic venue for the third time, aims to help clubs and players alike get one over on the winter weather by providing an opportunity to play competitive football in an indoor arena. By adopting the rules and format of Futsal, players are encouraged to focus on their first touch and technical skills by using a smaller, heavier ball.
This popularity of the competition has been rising year on year and this year’s competition produced:
- 29 clubs across the league
- 60 teams across all league age groups
- 91 Futsal teams entered
- 855 players
- 253 matches
- 2530 minutes of Futsal
- 5 WSL player appearances
Organiser and Middlesex FA Football Development Officer, Kelly Hancock, said:
‘It’s great to see the interest continually build over the years and as difficult as it is to organise for such large numbers, the opportunity for clubs, teams and players to come together and play indoors at such a great venue is invaluable.’
U-9, U-10 and U-11 were the first age groups up and were lucky enough to be joined by Arsenal’s Leah Williamson who carried out the presentations and took some time to sign autographs and answer questions from the day.
The next week saw the most subscribed age group, the U-13s, take centre stage. The majority of the teams in this age group had been involved in last year’s competition, so it was great to see it grow again and visibly notice the improvement.
One of the girls from the Pro:Direct U13 team commented: ‘I have really enjoyed the event. We don’t play Futsal much so to come and play in a big competition is great.’
The girls also received the boost of being joined by Millwall Lionesses players, Jordan Butler and Beth Harford, who made a surprise appearance to present the trophies and answer questions from players.
The last date saw the two oldest age groups have their time in the spotlight. They were joined by London Bees players (pictured top), Ashleigh Goddard and Sophie Harris who were on hand for the presentations and spent some quality time with the players and managers for questions, as well as showing off some of their skills.
One of the parents watching the event said afterwards: ‘Everything has been organised well and the games have all ran smoothly. The girls seem to have really enjoyed it.’
Winners of the Tournament
U-9 – Pro:Direct
U-10 – Tottenham Hotspur Girls
U-11 – Alexandra Park Youth
U-13 – Celtic Girls & Pro:Direct
U-15 – Enfield Town Girls
U-17 – Kent Football United
