An innovative project to get college students involved in women’s futsal is set to be launched by the University of Wolverhampton.
Sports teams from local colleges will be invited to take part in the women’s futsal competitions organised by students and Birmingham FA at the University’s Walsall Campus.
The University has secured £1,450 funding from the British Universities and Colleges Sports (BUCS) Women’s Football and Futsal Innovation Fund – in partnership with the FA – to run the programme.
A taster session will take place in June with the main competitions from September/October.
The events will be run by University students who will be involved in aspects such as refereeing, media and managing the day.
Tracy Nash, Professional and Workforce Sports Manager at the University, said: “We’re delighted to have received funding from BUCS for this project which will see us set up a number of competitions and festivals throughout the year for local colleges linked to football clubs we currently have links with.
“As part of the project University of Wolverhampton students will get involved in the delivery through organising, refereeing, media and managing the day.
“Workshops in coaching and refereeing futsal would also be offered to participants and to the student workforce involved to upskill both college students and University students enabling the game to grow further.”
The University is one of 12 institutions to have received funding from the innovation fund to run projects which aim to provide solutions to participation and workforce challenges in women’s and girls’ football and futsal that can be shared across the sector. Institutions will upskill a diverse student workforce to deliver the activity and work with both university and local community partners.