Courtesy: North-West Evening Mail

Furness children put their best fut forward

Tuesday, 07 February 2012

MORE than 300 budding young footballers have been taking part in a futsal competition.

The tournament, organised by InsideOut Activities, has been running for the past five weeks at Chetwynde School, in Barrow, with children aged seven to 11 learning more about the sport.

Futsal is a version of five-a-side football played with a smaller, heavier ball and in hockey sized nets.

This gives players more touches of the ball, demanding tactical awareness and quick movement.

Neil Doherty, head coach of InsideOut and a former Barrow AFC player, said: “This is our second year of running the futsal tournament.

“We are delighted with the number of teams who have entered and the level of performance of those involved.

“We really believe in Futsal as a way to improve individual skills and technique.

“It is clear from watching the matches that more players are beginning to develop those skills.”

Futsal is recognised and supported by football governing bodies FIFA and UEFA, with World and European Championships for club and national teams being held.

Doherty added: “Our tournament now covers four age groups, from under-eights to under-11s.

“We hope to continue to offer the opportunity to more children in the Furness area.

“The feedback from managers and coaches has been really positive and they are really keen to sign up for next year’s tournament already.

“I would also like to thank the Furness Building Society for sponsoring the certificates, trophies and medals for this tournament, which I know are really popular with the players.”

The final week of the tournament takes place this Saturday for the under-nines and under-10s age groups, with Walney already crowned under-11s champions.

For more details about the tournament or other InsideOut courses, contact Neil Doherty on 01229 430857.




Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com